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FROM
PIONEER HOME
TO
THE WHITE HOUSE.
LIFE OF
ABRAHAM LINCOLN:
BOYHOOD, YOUTH, MANHOOD, ASSASSINATION, DEATH.
BY
WILLIAM M. THAYER,
AUTHOR OF " FROM LOG CABIN TO THE WHITE HOUSE," ETC.
By HON. GEORGE BANCROFT.
BOSTON :
James H. Earle, Publisher,
178 Washington Street.
1888.
Cop/right, 1882,
By William M. Thayer.
Bights Reserved*
TROWS
PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANY,
ALL WHO HONOR TRUE MANHOOD,
Stfjts jFfllume,
PORTRAYING THE SIMPLICITY, TACT, TALENTS, SELF-RELIANCE,
AND STERLING HONESTY OF
ABRAHAM LINCOLN,
IN HIS EARLY CONFLICT WITH POVERTY AND HARDSHIP,
AND HIS REMARKABLE PUBLIC
LIFE,
&$ Stncmlg anto ^ffccttonatclg ©e&uatefc.
PREFACE.
HP HE author of this volume wrote the first Life of
A Abraham Lincoln — The Pioneer Boy, and
how he became President — which, after a very
large sale, passed out of print in consequence of the
destruction of the plates by fire. A Campaign Life
of only thirty-two pages, relating chiefly to his public
career, was issued at the West, after his nomination for
the Presidency in i860; but The Pioneer Boy was
the first complete biography of the man. Dr. Holland
said of it, several years later, in his Life of Lincoln,
"A singularly faithful statement of the early experience
of Abraham Lincoln." The materials for the Cam-
paign Life spoken of were furnished by Mr. Lincoln,
and he* very kindly directed that pamphlet, with a
quantity of unused matter, to be passed into our hands,
together with the names and addresses of several of
his early associates, reared with him in the wilderness,
and of intimate friends in later life, from whom the
most valuable information, never before given to the
public, was received. From these sources of knowledge
The Pioneer Boy was prepared.
In the preparation of this new, larger and more elab-
orate Life of Lincoln, we have had, in addition to the
above sources of information, others of even greater
value, at least so far as his character and public services
relate.
6 PREFACE.
Subsequent to the issue of the former volume, the
author, having in view the preparation of a more
thorough biography at a future day, gathered much
valuable information from public men, who were on the
most intimate terms with President Lincoln at Wash-
ington, as Sumner, Wilson, Buckingham, and Ames,
who are dead, and others who are still living. Also,
periodical literature has furnished many facts and anec-
dotes, from time to time, which have been carefully
laid aside. Last, though by no means least, access to
the numerous lives of Lincoln published since his death
—Dr. Holland's, Lamon's, Barrett's, Leland's, Forney's,
and Raymond's — has been especially serviceable in the
preparation of this volume. That very interesting
work of Carpenter — Six Months in the White
House — has furnished a fund of incident, illustrative
of Mr. Lincoln's character and ability. '
From these ample sources of material, the author
has endeavored to make a biography for popular read-
ing such as the times demand. The very large sale of
his recent life of President Garfield — From Log-
Cabin to the White House — created an active de-
mand for The Pioneer Boy, which, fact seemed to
mark the present time as providential for the issue of
this new life of the martyr President.
The perusal of this work will satisfy the reader that
the author's claim, in the Preface to the Log-Cabin,
that Garfield and Lincoln were remarkably alike in the
circumstances of birth, early struggles, and later ex-
perience, was fully justified. The fact is without a
parallel in the history of public men — such marvellous
coincidences from their birth in log-cabins to their
PREFACE.
assassination in the White House. Apart from this
likeness, however, the life of Lincoln as an example of
industry, tact, perseverance, application, energy, econ>
omy, honesty, purity, devotion to principle, and triumph
over obstacles in a successful career, presents a profit-
able study to the youth and young men of this and
other lands. The only parallel to it is that of Pres-
ident Garfield, with which we aim to connect this later
volume. The names of these two illustrious statesmen
are for ever associated in the history of our Republic.
It is well nigh impossible to separate them in the
thoughts of men. Statesmen of such power and in-
fluence, beginning their lives in want and obscurity
and ending them in the White House, cut off at last
by the shot of the assassin, must find their niche
together in the temple of fame. One other name only
of the great and good men of the past naturally affiliates
with these two — that of George Washington — the life
of whom will follow this as soon as it can be prepared,
bearing the title, From Farm House to the White
House. These three — Washington, Lincoln, and
Garfield — remarkably alike in their early precocity
and the wisdom and influence of manhood — furnish
stimulating examples to American readers.
Incidents are brought to the front in this life of
Lincoln, as they were in that of Garfield, and they
are made to portray the life of the man. Facts are
better than logic to exhibit the elements of personal
character ; therefore, we let incidents tell the story of
his life.
When Abraham Lincoln was consulted respecting
his biography, after his nomination for the Presidency
PREFACE.
in i860, he replied: " You can find the whole of my
early life in a single line of Gray's Elegy :
u i
The short and simple annals of the poor.' n
While this apt reply revealed the simplicity of the
man, it introduced the biographer at once to the open-
ing of a marvellous life. For, surely, that is a marvel-
lous life, when a boy, reared in a floorless log-cabin,
works his way, by dint of perseverance, upward and
onward, into the highest office of the land.
The chief object of the book is to show how its
hero won his position ; yet it incidentally exhibits the
manners and customs of the times, and section of
country, in which he was reared.
Provincialisms are intentionally avoided, as well as
that singular perversion of the English language that
characterized the unlettered people of Kentucky and
Indiana sixty years ago.
When Mr. Lincoln was alive, and the honored Pres-
ident of the United States, one of his old friends and
neighbors wrote to us : "I have known him long and
well, and I can say in truth, I think (take him altogether)
he is the best man I ever saw. Although he has never
made a public profession of religion, I nevertheless
believe that he has the fear of God before his eyes, and
that he goes daily to a throne of grace, and asks wis-
dom, light, and knowledge, to enable him faithfully to
discharge his duties." The reader will find abundant
confirmation of the friend's eulogy in this volume.
W M. T.
Franklin, Mass., March, 1882
CONTENTS,
I.
BIRTHPLACE.
Cabin-home on Nolin Creek — Father and Mother — Ances-
tors in Virginia — Indians, and Grandfather Killed by Them
— A Dark Day — Tales of Abraham's Childhood — Battle
with Indians — Capture of Three Girls — His Father's
Youth — Learning Carpenter's Trade — Could not Read
or Write — Learning of his Wife — Members of Baptist
Church — His Mother — On Knob Creek — Abraham
Fishing and Hunting — Dennis Hanks — Furniture of his
House 2$
II.
A SCHOOLBOY.
Riney's School — Reading only Taught — Hazel's School —
How to get the Money — Indiana a Free State — Few and
Poor Schools — Four Miles Away — The Lincoln Library
— Religious Advantages — Elder Elkins — Reading the
Bible — Familiar with Bible through Life — Incidents of
His Parents' desire to Educate him — Decision to Move to
Indiana — Gallaher's Interest — A Conversation — Lard
Titles — Real Cause of Removal to Indiana, a Free State . 32
III.
THE OLD HOME SOLD.
Colby's Arrival — His Proposition — It Awakens Surprise >—
The Farm Sold for Whiskey — Not Singular then — Prep-
arations to Move — Settlement — Starting on Flatboai —
lO CONTENTS.
On the Ohio — Upset in the River — Saved — Recovery of
part of Goods — Thompson's Ferry — Moved by Posey to
Interior — Gave Boat for Moving — Spot Selected — Going
back for Family — Heroism of Western Females then —
Indians — Seven Days on the Journey . ....... 42
IV.
A NEW HOME MADE.
The Axe a Symbol of Pioneer Life — Strength Developed -*"•
Incident Forty Years Later — Erecting a Half-faced Camp
— How Abe began Pioneer life — Built Log-house next Year
— Described — Putting up a Bed — Making Table and
Stools — Abe's Parlor Chamber — The Home-made Grist-
mill — Process of making it — How Pioneer Families got
Meal — Reading in his new Home — Improving in Pen-
manship— Surroundings described — No Water near —
How got this Farm — Spencer County — State of Society
two Years later, and Physical Condition described by
Turnham — Mrs. Lincoln against Drinking Customs . . 56
V.
AFTER GAME.
His First Shot — Talking over Loss on Ohio — The Flock
of Turkeys — A large one killed — Abe Lincoln surprised
— Dependent on Hunting for Food — Skill of Pioneer
Hunters — Their Standard — Snuffing a Candle — Arrival
of Thomas and Betsey Sparrow — A happy day — God-
send to Abraham * . 70
VI.
DARKER DAYS.
Hungry for Knowledge — Wants other Books than Bible —
The "Milk-Disease" — Mr. and Mrs. Sparrow sick — Nurs-
ing them — Their Death and Burial — Mrs. Lincoln's brief
Sickness — Neighbors' Sympathy and Skill — Her speedy
CONTENTS. 1 1
Death — Buried on the Knoll — Abe's Letter to Parson
Elkins — His first Letter — Neighbors surprised — Writing
Letters for them — Parson Elkins comes — His Welcome —
His Funeral Sermon — Impression upon Abraham — 'Char-
acter and Power of Pioneer Preachers — A Remarkable Ex-
ample — These Preachers and Abraham's early life . . . 7(1
VII.
BEIGHTER HOURS.
Copy of Pilgrim's Progress — His surprise — ^Esop's Fables
— A Treasure and its Influence — Books Interfere with
Work — His Father's Reproof — Writing Name on the
Earth — Charged with Laziness — The Charge Repelled
— Common to call Students lazy — None Lazy who Im-
prove every Moment — At Baldwin's Shop — Seeking enter-
tainment — Ramsay's Life of Washington read — Robinson
Crusoe his delight 93
VIII.
A NEW MOTHER AND SCHOOLS.
Mr. Lincoln's Home Untidy — Need of a Wife and Mother —
Remembers a Friend of his early Manhood — Married —
Brings his Bride Home— Her "Household Stuff" — The
second Mrs. Lincoln better Educated than the first — Has
Floor made and Windows supplied — Abraham's Welcome
to his Stepmother and her Children —What Dennis Hanks
says — Dennis Married one of her Daughters — Dorsey
opens School — School-house described — Arithmetic —
"Trapping up " — Crawford's School — Crawford's In-
fluence— His Prophecy about Abe — Example of Abe's
Honesty — What Nat Grigsby says — Abe's Compositions —
Opposes Cruelty to Animals —Defends a Terrapin — His
Plea — Crawford's Praise — The Rule of Three — Peace-
maker —An Example — Best Spelling — Spelling D-e-f-i-e-d
— Teaching " Manners " — Abe's Appearance — Swaney's
School — John Hanks 103
12 CONTENTS.
IX.
BORROWING AND WHAT CAME OF IT.
Talk about Washington — Weems' Life of Washington —
Borrowing the Book — Consequences of Borrowing Books
— Pleasant Hours — A Rain ruins the Book — Sorrowing
over it — Proposition to Crawford, the Owner — His Ex-
tortion— A hard Man — Cuts three Acres of Fodder to
Pay for Book — Afterwards Worked for Crawford, with
his Sister — " The Kentucky Preceptor " — Appearance of
Josiah Crawford — His Nose in Abe's Verse and " Chron-
icles " — What "Mrs. Crawford says about his being Pres-
ident— Abraham Kicked seriously by a Horse — " Cluck," 120
X.
WORKING AND WINNING.
Society about him — Mrs. Crawford's Description — Popu-
lation increased — People superstitious — Examples of
superstition — Influence on Abraham — Becomes a Ferry-
man, Farmer, Hostler, and House-servant — Reads His-
tory of the United States at Night — Employer's Son his
Bedfellow — Abe's late Reading vexes him — What he Said
about Abe Twenty Years after — Hog-killing — Became
a Butcher — His Sister Married — He Writes a Poem for
the Occasion — His Presence demanded at Parties —
Works for Jones the Store-keeper — Variety of Work —
Reads Life of Franklin — Reads a Newspaper here — Dis-
cusses Politics — Life of Henry Clay — Visits afterwards
to Grocery — Acting the good Samaritan, himself the
Horse — Saved a Man 132
XI.
UPWARD AND ONWARD.
How Abraham was regarded — What John Hanks says —
Mr. Lamon's words — His Mother's Testimony — The
Scrap-book — His Mother's Tribute to Herndon — Read-
CONTENTS. 13
ing and "Preaching about" — The Eccentric Preacher
and Abraham's imitation — His Father stopping it —
Foundation of Greatness laid here — Working for Mr.
Wood — The Temperance Paper, and Writing for it —
The Political Paper, and Writing for it — Excitement
over the Pioneer Writer — Substance of his Political
Article — Just what he Wrote when President — Abra-
ham's Temperance Principles — His Original Copies in
Verse — Hunting a Necessity — Wild Animals there —
Plays and Games — Abraham's great Strength .... 145
XII.
ON THE FLATBOAT.
Works for Mr. Gentry — A Flatboat Trip to New Orleans
Proposed — Account of Flatboating — Consent of Parents
to go — His Mother's Apprehensions — Preparations —
Talk with Miss Roby on Astronomy — What she Thought
Forty Years after — The Trip described — A Rough Life
— A Bloody Contest with Madame Bushane's Slaves —
The Sequel — The Trip successful — Return Home . . . 158
XIII.
SUNDRY INCIDENTS.
Trading Trip — His first Dollar for Service — Looking higher
— Call on Mr. Woods — Disappointed Hope — Another
Log-cabin — The Statutes of Indiana — Studying and
Reading at David Turnham's — Going to Court — The
Murder Trial — Meeting the Shelby Boy and President —
The Gentryville Lyceum — Questions Discussed — Place
for the Enslaved — Abe's Appearance — Centre of Attrac-
tion — The Foolish Act and the Outcome — How he
Learned — Dennis Hanks' Eulogy — Talk of Removing
to Illinois 169
XIV.
OFF TO ILLINOIS.
The Families to Remove — How they Went — Abe of Age
— Will not Leave his Father and Mother — Scripps —
14 CONTENTS.
His Description of Moving — Two Hundred Miles — Bad
Roads and Swollen Streams — The Kaskaskia — Uncle
John's House — The Spot to Settle — Building a Log-
house — The Fifteen Acres — Ploughing, Rail-splitting,
and Fencing — Mrs. Brown's Story, and Abe's Bedfellow
— George Chase's Story — Splitting Rails, and Reading
— Attacked by Fever and Ague — Useful — A Hard
Winter . . i8a
XV.
ANOTHER TRIP TO NEW ORLEANS.
Denton Offutt's Proposition — Who is Abe — His Step-
brother — The Plan and Pay — Start for Springfield —
Boat not Ready — Abe Proposes to Build one — Repair to
Spring Creek — Merry Times — Discussions — The Jug-
gler— Description of Abe again — Boat Finished, and
Cargo — Stuck on Rutledge's Dam — Abe's Ingenuity —
The Spectators — Success and Cheers — Offutt's Opinion
— Abraham's Invention afterwards — The Patent Office
— Loading Wild Hogs — Sewing up their Eyes — The
Voyage Down the River — Horrified by Slavery — Prov-
idence leading — Return — Offutt hires Abe to keep Store
— Walks from St. Louis — The Famous Wrestler — Abe's
Magnanimity 191
XVI.
IN A PIONEER STORE.
Going to New Salem — Waiting — Acting as Polling Clerk
— Going on Flatboat to Beardstown — Offutt coming with
Goods — Installed " Storekeeper" — Care of Saw-mill too
— W. G. Green, Assistant Clerk — His Popularity in the
Store — His Honesty — Examples of it — Silencing the
Drunken Bully — Minter Graham and Pinkham's Gram-
mar— How Abraham Found and Studied it — Lamon's
Words — Studied in Cooper's Shop — Great Progress —
Talk with Alley — His Estimate of Grammar — Meeting
Richard Bates — Spilling the Milk and Breaking Bowl —
A Noble Trait — Mastered Grammar — Its Blessing to
him thereafter 204
CONTENTS. 15
XVII.
STILL A CLERK.
The Clary's Grove Boys — Their Aim — Description of
them — Ruffians — How they Attacked Abraham — Dis-
pute with Offutt — Jack Wrestling with Abraham — How
Abraham Settled the Trouble — The Clary Grove Boys
Lose Power — "Honest Abe" — Jack's Trouble with a
Stranger — Abraham reconciles them — Abraham Builds
a Pig-pen — Debating Clubs — Dr. Holland's Account —
The Talisman Navigating the Sangamon — Abraham a
Pilot — Herndon's Account — Offutt's Poor Bargains and
Failure — Dr. Holland on Abraham's Standing .... 220
XVIII.
ON THE WAR PATH.
The Black Hawk War — Abraham Resolves to Enlist —
Others follow — A Company formed in New Salem —
How chosen Captain — Abraham's Speech — "Captain
Lincoln" — He Lifts a Barrel of Whiskey — His Views of
Betting, and Whiskey — Lecture to Green — Going into
Camp, and End of War — Incidents — The Friendly In-
dian and General Cass — Abraham's Courage and Power
— His Life in Danger — The Greatest Athlete — Wrestles
with Thompson — His Uprightness — Securing the Rights
of his Volunteer Company — Irwin's Tribute to him as a
Soldier — Abraham's Humorous Speech about it in Con-
gress . 23C
XIX.
UNSOUGHT HONORS.
After his Return from War — Thinks of Learning Black-
smith's Trade — Candidate for the Legislature — His Talk
. with Green and Surprise — How he Consented, and the
Lyceum — Nominated, and first Speech — Address to
Voters of the Country — His Comical Dress — Not Elected
— Advised to Study Law — An Honest Calling — No
1 6 CONTENTS.
Confidence in himself — Desires Permanent Occupation
— Becomes a Merchant again — The National Debt — His
Failure — What Books Read — Synopsis of all he Read —
Old Copy of Blackstone— 7 What McHenry says — Assists
Ellis in the Store — What Ellis says of him— What
Papers Read — How Avoided Interruptions — Meeting
John Calhoun — Becomes Surveyor — His Success —
Reforms New Salem — Makes Jack behave — Umpire at
Horse-race — How Worked for Short — Appointed Post-
master — Office in his Hat 243
XX.
LAURELS WON.
Elected Representative in 1834 — Dr. Barrett's View — Re-
fused to " Treat " his Friends — Close Study — How Ob-
tained a New Suit of Clothes and Interview with Smoot
— Pocket-money — Infidels and Infidel Books — In the
Legislature — John T. Stuart Advises him to Study Law
— His Generous Aid — Henry Clay — Decides to Study
Law — Self-denial and Companions — Walking Twenty-
two Miles for Books — Like Cicero — Elected again in
1836 — Surveying and Studying — Prevents Violence at a
Political Meeting — Flaying a Politician Alive — Who
Met in Legislature — The Long Nine — Face to Face with
Slavery — Firm Stand with Dan Stone — Admitted to
Bar in 1837 — Elected for Third Term in 1838 — His Firm
Temperance Principles — Addressing Young Men's Ly-
ceum — Elected Fourth Time in 1840 — Quelling a
Political Mob — Silencing a Legislator with a Story —
Stuart and Logan — Married — Letters of Friendship
Revealing his Heart 261
XXI.
SUCCESSFUL LAWYER.
His Practice and Poverty — Circuit Court — House Enlarged
in his Absence — Horse, Saddle-bags, and Buggy — His
Character — Not Defend a Client in Wrong — An Inter-
•sting Case — The Old Negress and Her Son Redeemed
CONTENTS. I?
— Colonel Baker and Lincoln — What Judge Treat re-
lates — Deluded into a Wrong Case — Refused to Defend
his Client when Convinced he was Guilty — Another
Case ~ A Suit against a Railroad — Refused $250 Offered
him — What Gillespie Thought of him as a Lawyer —
What Sparks said of him — How he Saved Jack Arm-
strong's Son from the Gallows — Aunt Hannah and her
Gratitude — His Eloquence and Power — How he As-
sisted Aunt Hannah afterwards — Released her Son from
the Army when President — What his Associate said of
"his Plea — Habits of Study — Sending Money to Parents
— Spends $750 for his Mother — Letter to his Dying
Father — Testimony of Judge Davis and Judge Drum-
mond 279
XXII.
THE RISING STATESMAN.
Candidate for Congress — Henry Clay — Generosity to a
Client — -Takes Seat in Congress Dec. 6, 1847 — Opposes
Mexican War and Annexation of Texas — Popularity in
Congress — Devotes Himself to Self-improvement —
Retirement — Occasional Political and Temperance
Speeches — Aroused by Breaking Missouri Compromise
— Takes the Field of Controversy — Replying to Douglas
— Great Speech — Great Success — Candidate for United
States Senator — Magnanimous Withdrawal in Favor of
Turnbull — Republican Party of Illinois Organized, his
Speech — Candidate for Vice-President in 1856 — In Fre-
mont Campaign — His Prophecies of Bloodshed — Can-
didate for United States Senator in 1858 — His Victorious
Debates with Douglas — His " House-Divided-Against-
Itself Speech " — Interview with Herndon and Others —
Result of the Canvas — His Tribute to Declaration of
Independence 0 297
XXIII.
GOING UP HIGHER.
State Convention of Illinois — Lincoln Invited to Platform —
The Hurrah — The Old Democrat and Rails — Criticism of
i8 CONTENTS.
Democrat — Convention puts him forward for President
— Incidents a Year Before — An Old Friend in New York
— At Five-Points Mission — Dr. Gulliver's Account of
Interview with him — National Republican Convention at
Chicago — The Candidates — Lincoln Nominated on Third
Ballot — A Hurricane of Applause — News at Springfield
— Scenes — His Temperance Principles come to the Front
again — Effect at the South — His Visitors many — Amus-
ing Incidents — His Height — The Scanty Dinner — Han-
nah Armstrong — Incidents in Chicago — His Election to
the Presidency — Dramatic Scene in Presence of Mr.
Bateman — His Confidence in Bible and Prayer — Child
of Providence — Went to see his Mother, a Touching
Scene — People Fear his Assassination — Speech to Neigh-
bors on Leaving for Washington — Trip there — Plot to
Assassinate him ^n
XXIV.
LIFE IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
What he Did — Incidents Tell the Story — Inauguration —
His Address — Reading Address to Family — His Cabinet
— Words with a Senator — Depended on Patriotism of the
People — The Previous Administration — Lincoln's Story
— Interview with Senator Douglas — Call for 75,000
Troops — Support of Douglas — First Gun of the Re-
bellion — Fall of Sumter — Effect — He Ruled and no
one else — Rejects Cameron's Advice — Refused to Re-
taliate— -Refused to Remove Cameron — Criticizes a
Committee's Report — The Smith Case — His Firmness
— Thrusts an Officer out of his Room — Sickness and
Death in his Family — Mrs. Pomroy's Interview —
Watching with Sick Tad — Talk with Mrs. Pomroy upon
Religion — Reciting her Experience — Twice — Thrice —
Prayer and the War — The Midnight Telegram — Willie's
Funeral— The Senator — His Mother's Bible — Institut-
ing Prayer for Soldiers — Pleasing Incident — His Inter-
view with Dr. Vinton — A Devoted Father — His Deep
Sorrow — Defence of his Stories — His Wit — His Mag-
nanimity— Art of Putting Things — Several Illustrations
CONTENTS. 19
— What a Writer Says — His Religious Character — Trust
in Providence — Orders to Prevent Sabbath-breaking and
Profanity — Temperance — His Literary Ability — Illus-
trations— Address at Dedication of National Cemetery . 333
XXV.
HIS GREAT INTEREST IN SOLDIERS.
"Father Abraham " — " The Boys"— His Opinion Ex-
pressed — Spoke from Experience — Would not Yield
Care of Soldiers — Daily Routine — Night-work — Sol-
diers before Senators — A Soldier and his Mother — The
Baby — Boy on the Ottawa — The Drummer Boy — A
Mother Asks for a Son — The Handsomest Man — Rests
in Pardoning the "Boys" — The Four Telegrams — Do
him no Good to Shoot him — The Vermont "Boy" —
Blood and Remission of Sins — Rebel Sympathizer —
Shaking the Hands of Five Thousand Soldiers — The
Rebel Soldier — Extracts from Letters — ■ Sorrow over
Slain Soldiers — Dr. Holland's Words and Facts — His
Praise of General Garfield — His Letter to a Mother — In
terest in Soldiers' Aid Societies — Letter and Speeches —
Joy over Relief for Soldiers — Pity for " Boys " in Rebel
Prisons — Retaliation — Visiting Rebel Prisoners — The
Penitent — Herndon's Eulogy — Climax of the Sacrifice . 37a
XXVI.
HIS WORK FOR THE COLORED RACE.
«• Liberator of a Race " — His Sentiments Stated — Letter to
Greeley — Sojourner Truth — Frederick Douglas — Chil-
dren of Concord — Counting Greenbacks for a Negro —
Colored Delegation from Louisiana — Protection of Col-
ored Soldiers, his Order — Refusing to give up Colored
Soldiers — Refused to Pardon Slave-Trader — Committed
to Negro Suffrage — Reverence of Colored Soldiers for
him — Negroes in Virginia — Their Joy over Lincoln in
Richmond — Colonel McKaye's Account of them — Their
Gift of a Bible — Of Wax Flowers — Asking for Procla-
mation of Emancipation — First Proposed Freedom —
20 CONTENTS.
Cabinet Meeting — Proclamation Issued — His Signature
— Carpenter's Painting — Copy of Proclamation — Words
of Colfax . 4QI
XXVII.
STILL IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
Re-nomination — The Soldiers for him — The German —
Call for 500,000 Troops — His Re-election — Reply to
Committee — Its Effect — Second Inauguration — His
Address Remarkable — Copy of it — Sumner's Words —
Civil Service Reform — Office-seekers — Going to City
Point — His Telegrams — Fall of Richmond — Lincoln
enters the City — At Jeff Davis's Headquarters — Reading
Shakespeare — Surrender of Lee — National Joy — Sum-
ner Classes Lincoln with Washington 420
XXVIII.
SHOT OF THE ASSASSIN.
Threats of Assassination — His Remarks — Objected to
Guards — Colonel Halpine's Appeal — Plot to Abduct him
— Robert Lincoln's Return — Ford's Theatre — Ashmun
and Colfax — The Fatal Shot — The Assassin — Fearful
Excitement — Seward Wounded — Death-bed Scene —
Terrible Night — The Assassin — Assassin Caught — A
Fact about Booth — Lincoln and William of Orange —
Description of the Nation's Sorrow — The Sabbath — Ven-
geance in New York — Garfield's Words — Grief of Col-
ored People — Letter from Charleston, S. C. — A Friend's
Story down South — Foreign Sympathy — Victoria —
Eugenie — France — Italy — Belgium, etc. — Tributes of
Bancroft and Speaker Colfax 433
XXIX.
FUNERAL CEREMONIES.
Preparation for Funeral — Action of Congress — Lying in
State — The City in Black— Funeral in East Room — Dr.
CONTENTS. 2\
Gurley's Eloquent Tribute — Ceremonies at the Capitol —
Vast Multitude — Ceremonies throughout the Land —
Floral Tributes — Funeral Train to Springfield — Scene
in Baltimore — Sorrow in every Village — Philadelphia in
Tears — Prophetic Words — Tribute of New York — Mot-
toes— Other Cities — The Scene at Midnight — Funeral
at Chicago and Springfield — Closing Tributes .... 449
XXX.
ORATION.
By Hon. George Bancroft » . 459
I
CHAPTER I.
BIRTHPLACE.
| HE miserable log cabin which the artist fur-
nishes further on in this chapter, tells the
tale of poverty and lowliness into which
Abraham Lincoln was born. It was a floor-
less, doorless, windowless shanty, situated in one of
the most barren and desolate spots of Hardin county,
Kentucky. His father made it his home simply Ce-
cause he was too poor to own a better one. Nor was
his an exceptional case of penury and want. For the
people of that section were generally poor and un-
lettered, barely able to scrape enough together to keep
the wolf of hunger from their abodes.
Here Abraham Lincoln was born February 12th,
1809. His father's name was Thomas Lincoln; his
mother's maiden name was Nancy Hanks. When
they were married, Thomas was twenty-eight years of
age, and Nancy, his wife, twenty-three. They had
been married three years when Abraham was born.
Their cabin was in that part of Hardin County which is
now embraced in La Rue County, a few miles from
Hodgensville — on the south fork of Nolin Creek. A
perennial spring of water, gushing in silvery brightness
from beneath a rock near by, relieved the barrenness of
24 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
the location, and won for it the somewhat ambitious
name — " Rock Spring Farm."
" How came Thomas Lincoln here ? " the reader will
ask, "Whence did he come?" "Who were his an-
cestors ? "
Thomas Lincoln was born in Rockingham County,
Virginia, in 1778. Two years later (in 1780), his
father lured by the stories of the remarkable fertility
of the soil in Kentucky, and the rapid growth of the
population, removed thither for a permanent abode.
He had five children at the time — three sons and two
daughters — and Thomas was the youngest child but
one. He settled in Mercer, now Bullitt County.
Then, a hundred years ago, the Indians in that re-
gion, and throughout the whole north-west territory,
were deadly hostile to the whites. The pioneer " took
his life into his hands " by removing thither. His rifle
was his constant companion, that he might defend
himself against the savage foe, whether at home or
abroad. If he went to the field to plough or build
fence, or into the woods to chop, his rifle was indispen-
sable. He knew not when or where the wily Indian
would surprise him.
Four years after the father of Thomas Lincoln
moved into Kentucky, he went into the field to
build fence. He took Thomas, who was then about
six years old, with him, and sent his two older sons,
Mordecai and Josiah, to work in another field not far
away. While busily engaged in putting up fence, a
party of Indians in ambush fired at the father and he
fell dead. The sons were terribly frightened, and little
Thomas was well-nigh paralyzed. Josiah ran to a stock'
BIRTHPLACE. 25
ade two miles off, and Mordecai, the eldest, ran to the
cabin, from the loft of which, through a loop-hole, he
could see the Indians. A savage was in the act of
lifting his little brother from the ground, whereupon
Mordecai, aiming his gun through the hole in the loft,
fired, and killed the " redskin." The latter fell to the
ground instantly and Thomas ran for his life to the
cabin. Mordecai continued at his post, blazing away
at the head of every Indian who peered from the un-
derbrush. Soon, however, Josiah arrived from the
stockade with a party of settlers ; and the savages fled,
leaving their dead comrade and a wound td one behind
them. Mordecai had done good execution with his rifle.
That was the darkest day that the family of Abra-
ham Lincoln's grandfather ever knew. The lifeless
form of their strong protector, borne into their humble
cabin, made it desolate indeed. Who would defend
them now ? To whom would they look for bread ?
A home in the wilderness was hardship enough, but
the fatal shot of the savage multiplied hardships an
hundred fold.
Abraham Lincoln often listened, in his boyhood, to
this tale of woe in his grandfather's cabin. It was a
chapter of family history too startling and important
to be passed over with a single rehearsal. It was
stereotyped and engraved upon Abraham's young
heart, with many other reminiscences and facts con-
nected with life in Kentucky at that early day. His
father was a great story-teller, and was noted for his
" yarns," and besides, a sort of pride prompted the
recital of this exciting chapter of family history, with
scenes that preceded it,
26 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" It would take me a week," he would say, " to tell
you all I have heard your grandpa say about those
dark days. The very year he came here, 1780, the
Indians attacked the settlers in great force. All the
men were ordered to organize into companies, and
Daniel Boone, 'the great hunter of Kentucky/ who
settled there five years before the Lincolns did, was
made a lieutenant-colonel, and all the forces were
put under the charge of General Clark. They started
to meet the enemy, and found them near the Lower
Blue Licks. Here they fought a terrible battle, and
the Indians beat, and cur up the whites badly. Boone's
son was wounded, and his father tried to carry him
away in the retreat. He plunged into the river with
him on his back, but the boy died before he reached
the other side. By the time Boone got over the river,
he looked around and saw that the Indians were swim-
ming after him ; so he had to throw down his dead son,
and run for his life. He got away and reached Bry-
ant's Station in safety. Before that, the Indians cap-
tured three little girls and carried them off. They be-
longed to the fort at Boonesboro, and one of them was
Boone's daughter. They were playing with a canoe in
the Kentucky river, and crossed over to the other side,
when a party of Indians rushed out of the bushes into
the river and drew the canoe ashore. The girls were
scared almost to death, and screamed so loud that
they were heard at the fort. The men in the fort
ran out to help them, but by the time they reached the
canoe, the savages had fled with the girls. It-
was almost night — too late to organize and pursue
them, and so they spent the night in mustering all
BIRTHPLACE. 2?
the men they could and started after them at break of
day. But it was well nigh the close of the next day
when the settlers came in sight of the Indians, forty
miles off. They had camped for the night, and were
cooking their supper. Fearing that the Indians would
kill the girls rather than give them up, it was the plan
of the settlers to shoot them so suddenly that they
would have no time to kill the girls. So they banged
away at the savages, all of them together, as soon as
they came in sight of them, taking good care not to hit
the children. Not one shot hit an Indian, but the at^
tack was so sudden and uproarious, that the red-skins
were scared half out of their wits ; and they ran away
as fast as their legs could carry them, leaving the girls
and their weapons behind."
Abraham's young life was regaled with many such
"yarns" — real facts of history — belonging to the
times and experience of his ancestors. Whatever
may have been the effect of these " harrowing tales "
upon his mind, it is quite certain that he must have
seen, by contrast, that his own condition, with all its
want and woe, was a decided improvement upon that
of his grandfather's family.
But to return to our story, Abraham's grandmother
removed after her husband was shot ; and Thomas,
his father, was compelled to shift for himself as soon as
he Was old enough to work for his living. Being a
rover by nature, and under the necessity of supporting
himself, he wandered about from place to place in
search of jobs, and took up his abode wherever there
was a chance to earn his bread and butter. He was
not very enterprising, nor particularly industrious at
28 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
this period of fils life. He loved a roving life too well
and was too well satisfied with jolly companions to
mean business. His wandering career, however,
showed him much of the world, and furnished the
opportunity to store his mind with anecdotes and some
useful information, which he made frequent use of in
after years, and by reason of which, he became very
popular with his associates.
When Thomas Lincoln was about twenty-six years
of age, he went to live with Joseph Hanks, a carpenter,
of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, to learn his trade. It
was here that he met Nancy Hanks, niece of Joseph
Hanks, whom he courted and afterwards married,
thereby getting, not only a trade, but a wife, also.
The latter, however, was much more of an acquisition
than the former ; for he was never competent to do
any but the roughest work at his trade. When he
was married to Nancy he set up housekeeping in a
more miserable abode at Elizabethtown than the log
cabin on Nolin Creek. From this shanty, into which
he took his bride, he soon removed to the other shanty
on the aforesaid Creek.
This is how and why Thomas Lincoln, father of
Abraham, became the proprietor of the rickety habi-
tation in Hardin county, that we have described to the
reader. Here three children were born to him ; Sarah,
the eldest, Abraham next, and Thomas the third. The
latter died in infancy.
Thomas Lincoln could neither read nor write. He
had not been to school a single day in his life. His
wife could read passably, but she could not write suffi-
ciently to undertake a letter. She could sign her
Birthplace of Abraham Lincoln.
BIRTHPLACE. 29
name to a document, and perhaps do a little more in the
same line ; while her husband could only make his mark,
"You can learn," said his bride to him, soon after the
twain became one flesh. " Never too old to learn."
"That's a question," responded her husband, who
was one of the easy bodies, who could scarcely think
it worth while for a man to go to school, even to his
wife, at twenty-eight years of age.
"It's not a question at all," responded Mrs. L.
"You can learn to write your name, if nothing more,
and that will be a great improvement over making
your mark. I can teach you as much as that."
At length the good-natured husband consented to
take lessons of his wife in penmanship; and he ac-
tually set to work to accomplish his purpose. The
most that he accomplished, however, was to learn to
write his name so that ingenious people could read it.
He lifted himself out of that ignorant and unambi-
tious class who are content to make their X .
At this time Thomas Lincoln and his wife were
members of the Baptist Church, showing that they
cast in their lot with the best people of the county,
and aspired to a Christian life. Mrs. Lincoln was a
more devout follower of Christ than her husband, and
was more gifted mentally. Dr. Holland says: "She
was a slender, pale, sad, and sensitive woman, with
much in her nature that was truly heroic, and much
that shrank from the rude life around her." Lamon
says : " By her family her understanding was consid-
ered something wonderful." There is no doubt that
she was a bright, sensible, brave Christian woman,
whose father removed from Virginia into Kentucky
30 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
about the time that the father of Thomas Lincoln did.
Thomas appears to have been satisfied with his choice,
and her influence over him was strong and elevating.
When Abraham was four years old, his father re-
moved to a more fertile and picturesque spot on Knob
Creek, six miles from Hodgensville. This creek emp-
ties into the Rolling Fork, the Rolling Fork into Salt
River, and Salt River into the Ohio, twenty-four miles
from Louisville. How so poor a man could purchase
so much of a farm (two hundred and thirty-eight acres)
for one hundred and eighteen pounds, seems myste-
rious, until we learn the fact that, at the end of the
year, he sold two hundred acres for one hundred
pounds, reserving but thirty-eight acres for himself.
But even this condition of his affairs shows a decided
advance in contrast with the pitiable poverty that in-
ducted him into wedded life. Then, too, the fact that
he aspired after a more fertile and attractive location,
and actually planted from six to eight acres the first
year of his residence on Knob Creek, proves that the
spirit of a larger enterprise possessed his soul. Some-
how his marriage to Nancy Hanks had raised him above
that restless, thriftless, aimless life that characterized
his youth and early manhood.
It was on Knob Creek that Abraham, or "Abe," as
he was familiarly called by his parents and other people,
was initiated into fishing and other sports. On Nolin
Creek he hunted "ground-hogs" with a precocious
boy, Johnnie Duncan, who afterwards became quite
widely known as Rev. John Duncan. On Knob Creek,
he played in the water, took long tramps, and enjoyed
himself generally with one Billy Gallaher. For a boy
BIRTHPLACE. 3 1
of his age (but six or seven at that time) he was ad-
venturous and enterprising. One of his venturesome
sports was, to catch hold of a branch of a sycamore
tree and swing over the water. One day, when indul-
ging in this risky sport, with his no less venturesome
Billy, he lost his hold of the limb and plunged into the
water. If Billy had not been a cool, smart, efficient
boy, Thomas Lincoln would have lost a good son on
that day, and the United States of America a good
President. But Billy was equal to the occasion, and,
by brave efforts, succeeded in delivering "Abe" from
a watery grave.
Another boy, Dennis F. Hanks, his cousin, was one
of his boon companions, though a little older than him-
self. Thomas Sparrow, who reared Nancy Hanks to
womanhood (Mrs. Lincoln), had given Dennis a home
in his family, and Sparrow was now a neighbor of
Thomas Lincoln, and Dennis and "Abe " playmates.
Dennis was a great lover of hunting and fishing, and
"Abe" accompanied him upon many a long tramp,
though he was not old enough to use fire-arms; nor
did he ever become expert in either hunting or fishing.
The Lincoln cabin on Knob Creek was very little
better than the one on Nolin Creek. It was a floorless
log-house, with one room below and a loft above, and
the usual accompaniment of stools, skillet, and Dutch
oven. Here "Abe" began to show signs ot remark-
able brightness, as evinced by his tact, intelligence and
aims. It was noticeable that he was more precocious
than other children of his age ; and his parents were
not slow to perceive and appreciate the fact. The
next chapter presents him in a new role.
CHAPTER II.
A SCHOOLBOY.
|INEY is going to keep school," remarked Mr.
Lincoln to his wife, one day, " and he wants
to know if Sarah and Abe will go."
"I hope so, certainly, though he can't be
much of a teacher any way," replied Mrs. Lincoln.
"A poor school is better than none."
" There can be no doubt about that," continued Mr.
Lincoln. " It won't take Riney long to tell the chil-
dren all he knows ; but that is better than nothing."
" He can't write nor cipher," added his wife, "and
a man who can't do that can't be much of a reader."
"Well, reading is all he claims," said Mr. Lincoln.
" He has nothing to do with figures or writing. He
proposes to teach boys and girls what he knows, and
nothing more."
" That's about all the best of them can do, — teach
what they know," — Mrs. Lincoln answered. "To
attempt more would be foolish indeed."
This Hezekiah Riney was a new comer, and he had
settled within a half mile of Lincoln's cabin. He was
a rough, ignorant man, with scarcely one qualification
for a teacher, even in that wild untutored country,
A SCHOOLBOY. 33
But he wanted to eke out a miserable subsistence by
adding a few dollars to his pitiable income ; and so he
proposed school-keeping as about the only thing pos-
sible in that barren country. Parents accepted the
proposition because there was nothing better ; and
here the hero of this volume began to be a schoolboy,
accompanying his sister Sarah daily to Riney's cabin.
"Abe" made some progress at this school — he
began to read. A dilapidated copy of Dillworth's
spelling-book was the only volume the two children of
Tom Lincoln had between them at this Riney insti-
tution, and they appear to have made good use of it.
The brightness of the pupils was a pleasant offset to
the stupidity of the teacher.
Riney's school, for some reason, was of short dura-
tion ; it closed in five or six weeks. Perhaps the
fountain ran dry in that time. Possibly some of the
scholars knew more than their master at the end of
that period, which is not claiming very much for the
pupils. At any rate, "Abe" and his sister trans-
ferred their destiny to another "pioneer college," as,
forty years afterwards, Abraham Lincoln facetiously
called those cabin-schools of the woods.
" Mr. Hazel knows a heap more than Riney," said
Mr. Lincoln, " and we must try to have the children
go to his school, though it is a long way off."
" Yes ; it is time that * Abe knew something about
writing,' and Hazel can learn him that," Mrs. L. re-
plied. " The children won't mind the distance. If
we can scrape together enough to pay for their school-
ing, they ought to go."
The last remark touched upon a subject that was
34 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
often uppermost in Tom Lincoln's mind, — how to get
money enough to pay for the necessaries of life.
Although he was satisfied with corn-cake and milk
for daily food, yet it would require considerable in-
genuity and economy to produce the extra money to
pay for the schooling ; so he replied, —
" I've counted the cost, and. I guess we can raise
the money some way. Hazel can start Abe off on
writing, and that will be worth everything to him.
Some day I hope to live in a country where I can
earn something at my trade."
" That will be some distance from here, I'm think-
ing," replied Mrs. L. "We can't expect much growth
in this part of the country at present. If Indiana
comes into the Union a free State, there may be a
better chance there." The question of admitting
Indiana into the Union as a free State was then
agitating the country. The subject was before the
American Congress, and the slave power was doing
every thing possible to prevent such an event. The
slaveholders of Kentucky were especially exercised
about it, because another free State so near would be
an additional invitation to their slaves to find an
asylum there. The subject was discussed, pro and
con, in every Kentucky cabin where white men dwelt.
The Lincolns were in favor of making Indiana a free
State. They knew full well that the curse of slavery
blighted the prosperity of every slave State.
" There's a better chance for every thing in a free
State," was Mr. Lincoln's only answer.
The reader must understand that schools were very
scarce in Kentucky in Tom Lincoln's day ; and the
A SCHOOLBOY. 35
few in existence were very poor, scarcely deserving the
name of schools. They would not be tolerated now.
Teachers were no better than the schools ; for it is
always true, "like teachers, like schools." Hazel's
school was better than Riney's ; for Hazel could give
instruction in "reading and writing." True, his ac-
quisitions in these several branches were small indeed :
they compared well with his surroundings. But he
could give such a boy as Abraham a start in the right
direction.
Hazel's school was four miles distant ; and it was
kept in a log schoolhouse, the only one in all that
region. To this pioneer institution Sarah and Abra-
ham travelled daily, carrying their dinner of corn-bread,
without varying it a single day during the eight or ten
weeks of their attendance. Here Abraham really
began his career. Here he acquired the art of pen-
manship, very imperfectly, of course ; but he learned
to form letters, and became enthusiastic over the
acquirement. Here, too, he made rapid progress in
reading. Mr. Hazel discovered the elements of a
noble character in the boy, and predicted that he
would not always live in the woods as his father had.
The best evidence we can find proves that Abraham
learned about all Hazel was able to teach in the few
weeks he was his pupil.
All the books the Lincoln cabin could boast, at that
time, were the Bible, Catechism, and the copy of Dill-
worth's Spelling-Book, that Sarah and Abraham shared
between them. This was a very small library even for
a pioneer, but it was good as far as it went. Any
library that begins with the Bible begins well. The
36 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
Catechism and Spelling-Book were suitable compan-
ions for the Book of books. "The three safeguards
of our country are the Bible, Sabbath, and Public
School ;" and here they were in the Lincoln cabin, —
elements of family and national growth. Other things
of like value followed in due time.
The religious advantages of that day and region
were smaller, if possible, than the educational. There
was no worship, nor place of worship, within many
miles. " Parson Elkins " embraced that part of Ken-
tucky in his circuit, so that occasionally he preached
in the Lincoln cabin, where he was a favorite. Indeed,
he was a favorite in all that region, and was cordially
welcomed by all settlers who had any respect for
religion. With this exception, public worship was
unknown among the pioneers of that time, and Chris-
tian families were obliged to depend upon themselves
chiefly for Bible study and Sabbath observance. As
Mrs. Lincoln could read, and the Bible was the only
reading-book in the family, Abraham often heard it
read upon the Sabbath, and other days. Before he
Uearned to read, he became familiar with many of the
narratives of the Bible. He delighted in Bible stories
in his childhood, and never tired of listening to their
rehearsal. As soon as he could read, the Bible became
his reading book, in the absence of all others. Over
and over again its narrative portions especially were
read, until his mind became stored with Scriptural
knowledge. As he grew older, and other reading-
books occupied his attention, he neglected the Bible
for them. Still, his familiarity with it in his child-
hood made an impression for life. Though he was not
A SCHOOLBOY. 37
a Christian man when he entered upon his public
career, yet he evinced a remarkable familiarity with
the Scriptures. His conversation and public addresses
were often enlivened by quotations and figures from
the Bible. In the sequel it will appear that this one
book must have been the source of that honesty, noble
ambition, adherence to right, and dependence upon
Providence, which signalized his public career.
Three incidents of his life in the White House show
his familiarity with the Bible. At one time he was
very much annoyed by men who complained of promi-
nent officials. To one of these parties, he said, one
day, " Go home, my friend, and read attentively the
tenth verse of the thirteenth chapter of Proverbs."
That verse is, "Accuse not a servant to his master,
lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty." General
Fremont, whom he had relieved of his command, con-
sented to run against him for the Presidency, after
Lincoln's renomination for the office. A small follow-
ing of disappointed politicians and military aspirants
rallied around Fremont. About the time the latter
withdrew his name, — satisfied that his candidacy would
make more enemies than friends, — Mr. Lincoln said to
a public man, who introduced the subject, " Look here ;
hear this ; " and he proceeded to read the following
from the First Book of Samuel, "And every one that
was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and
every one that was discontented, gathered themselves
unto him, and he became captain over them, and there
were with him about four hundred men."
At one time Henry Ward Beecher criticized his ad-
ministration sharply in the " Independent," of which
38 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
he was the editor-in-chief. Several editorials of this
character were published in that journal, and some one
cut them out and forwarded them to Mr. Lincoln. One
day he took them out of the envelope and read them
all through, when he flung them upon the floor, ex-
claiming, " Is thy servant a dog that he should do this
thing?" The criticisms were based on falsehoods,
and were therefore unjust and cruel ; hence his apt
quotation from the Bible.
It has been said by one of Abraham Lincoln's biog-
raphers, that his father had no interest in his educa-
tion, The facts already cited prove such a conclusion
to be incorrect. A father and mother whose poverty
compelled them to live upon " hoe-cake," must have had
a decided interest in the education of their children, to
try to scrape together a few dollars for their tuition at
school, and then send them four miles on foot daily
to enjoy the coveted boon! If that be indifference to
culture, then the more we have of it the better. That
Thomas Lincoln and his pious wife cherished a strong
desire for the education of their children, there can be
no doubt ; that they saw in their son, Abraham, early
evidence of remarkable mental powers is certain ;
but that they expected he would ever become distin-
guished as a public man is not true ; for there was no
prospect whatever that he would lift the incubus of
want and obscurity, and step out into the world of
renown. Such an anticipation could not possibly have
been indulged by them.
It was the autumn of 1816. Indiana had been ad-
mitted as a free State into the Union, and immigration
A SCHOOLBOY. 39
thither had already set in as a consequence. The
excitement over freedom in Indiana had reached Ken-
tucky, as we have said already, and Thomas Lincoln
and wife became interested parties. They discussed
the question of removing thither, and finally decided
in the affirmative, provided their farm could be sold.
"As soon as the fall work is through," was Mr.
Lincoln's decision.
"If you can sell," added Mrs. L., with a significant
emphasis upon the if " It's a hard place to sell any-
thing here. Perhaps we shall have to stay a while
longer."
"There'll be somebody to buy," added Mr. L., with
a confident air.
" Heard anything from the man Gallaher told
about ? "
" Not a word ; but there's time enough yet."
Neighbor Gallaher had met a person who desired to
purchase a small farm like Lincoln's, and he had told
him of Lincoln's desire to sell in October, " after the
fall work was through." The man's name was Colby;
and Mr. Lincoln really expected the would-be pur-
chaser would make his appearance. His wife had
little faith in the enterprise, although she really desired
to remove to Indiana. The difficulty of selling a farm
at such a time and in such a place appeared far
greater to her than to her husband.
"We must go soon or not at all this year," added
Mrs. L. " Winter will overtake us in the wilderness
before we are ready for it."
" It will not take long to pull up stakes and locate
in Indiana when we once get started," responded Mr,
Lincoln.
40 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" Perhaps not ; but it will be time enough to think
of that after we sell," suggested his wife, as if she had
little faith that a purchaser of their farm could be
found. "We must learn to labor and wait."
"We've got that lesson pretty well learned now,"
responded Mr. Lincoln. "About all I've ever done
is to labor and wait ; and if I wait much longer I may
lose what title I have to my land now, as others have."
"That is not impossible, as everybody about here
knows," added Mrs. Lincoln.
"The chances are that the title to this place may
prove worthless, judging from the experience of
others," continued Mr. Lincoln. "A man don't
know whether he owns an acre of land or not about
here."
Great excitement prevailed in Kentucky relative to
land-titles. Many settlers, after toiling for years
for a livelihood, found their titles to their farms de-
fective. The heirs of Daniel Boone were cheated out
of every acre of land purchased by their illustrious an-
cestor. So many had experienced trouble and heavy
losses in this way, that almost every landholder feared
his title might prove invalid. Thomas Lincoln shared
this fear in common with others. One of his biogra-
phers maintains that he removed to Indiana solely on
this account ; — that the curse of slavery in Kentucky,
or the advantages of freedom in the new State of
Indiana, had nothing to do with his decision. But
we beg leave to dissent from this conclusion. There
can be no doubt that the uncertainty of land-titles in
Kentucky was one important reason for his removal,
but it was by no means the only reason. Another
A SCHOOLBOY. 41
reason, without doubt, was his love of change. His
roving disposition was not entirely eradicated. But,
more than all, the excitement over the making of
another free State, with the rose-colored views promul-
gated concerning the advantages of a free State to poor
men like himself, influenced him to make the change.
It is positive that he would not have removed to Indiana
at all had it come into the Union as a Slave State. The
general enthusiasm over its admission in the interest
of freedom, lured him thither as it did hundreds of
others. The very rapid immigration to that State,
commencing immediately after its admission, is con-
clusive proof of this statement. The reason of his
locating just where he did in Indiana was, probably,
because a former acquaintance — Thomas Carter —
had removed thither. But the next chapter will
disclose the details of this affair.
CHAPTER III.
THE OLD HOME SOLD.
BOUT the middle of October (1816) a
stranger appeared at the cabin. It was
Colby.
" You want to sell your place, I hear," he
remarked, after introducing himself.
"I'm thinking of it," answered Mr. Lincoln. "Galla-
her told me that you would come to see me about it.
So we've been expecting you, and rather making
arrangements to sell the farm. This is about what you
would like ? "
" Yes, from Mr. Gallaher's description of it. I can't
handle much of a place ; I'm too poor for that."
" In the same boat with the rest of us, then," sug-
gested Mr. Lincoln. " Not much money in these dig-
gings. How much money can you put into a place ? "
"Not much, just now. I must make a barter trade
if I buy now. What's the damage for such a place as
this ? "
"Three hundred dollars," answered Mr. Lincoln
promptly. "That is the price I've settled on."
"Cash?"
" Yes ; that's what I've been expecting, though I
might take something else for part of the pay."
THE OLD HOME SOLD. 43
"Well, I haven't much money," continued Mr.
Colby; "but I have what is good as money in the
market."
"What is it?"
" You see I 've been specilatin' a little since I gave
you a call in the summer. I used up my grain for
whiskey, and I bought some, too, thinkin' that I should
make a spec out of it; but I hain't sold but a trifle
on 't yet. Now, if I could pay you mostly in whiskey,
I would strike the bargain at once ; and may be that
over in Indiana you'll find a ready market for it."
"I hadn't thought of taking pay in such an article,"
answered Mr. Lincoln ; "and I don't know as I could
ever sell it. I'm going to strike right into the wilder-
ness."
" That may be ; but you '11 have neighbors within a
few miles ; and over there they hain't got the knack of
manifacturin' it, I s'pose, and this would make it easier
to sell it."
" It 's awkward stuff to carry on such a trip, though
I expect to move on a flat-boat."
"Just the easiest thing in the world to carry this;
you can carry it as well as not on a boat. You won't
have half a load of other stuff. And it will bring you
double there what it will here, I'm thinkin'."
"That's all guess-work."
"But don't it stand to reason that whiskey would
bring more where they can't make it, as they can here ? "
"Yes, I admit that it may probably bring more
there, and it ought to bring more to pay for the trouble
of taking it there. But can't you turn it into money
some way?"
44 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
"I don't see how I can ; I've done the best I could
about it. The fact is, the folks in this part of Ken-
tucky have laid in largely for whiskey. I can sell it
in time, I have no doubt, at a stiff price, but that won't
help me just now."
" Of course not ; but this is unexpected, though I 'm
determined to sell out at some rate. You look over
the place ; it 's all in a stone's throw, and I will talk
with my wife, and see what we can do."
So Lincoln left Colby to examine the premises, after
having shown him the limits of the place, and pro-
ceeded to consult his wife. Mrs. Lincoln looked sur-
prised and amused over the proposition to turn the
farm into whiskey. "A queer bargain," she said.
" Something I never dreamed of."
" Nor I ; but I must sell the place, and this may be
my last chance this season."
"That is very true, and the matter must be looked
at carefully. It may be that the whiskey can be sold
in Indiana more readily than we expect. I scarcely
know what to say. You must do as you think best."
"Well, I think it is best to sell out at some rate, and
if I thought that this was my last chance to sell this
fall, I should take the whiskey, and run the risk."
"As to that, I think it likely that you won't have
another chance this fall. It is n't often that you can
sell a place in this part of the country."
"I'm inclined to think, then," continued Mr. Lin-
coln, musing, with his eyes fastened upon the earth-
floor of their cabin, as if scarcely knowing what to do,
"that I shall take the whiskey if I can't do any better
with him."
THE OLD HOME SOLD. 45
"Just as you think best," answered his wife. "You
can judge better than I can whether it will do or
not."
After going to the man, and satisfying himself that
he must take the whiskey, or fail to sell, Mr. Lincoln
introduced the subject of the price of it, about which
nothing had been said.
"How much a gallon?" he inquired. "You'll of
course sell it at a discount, seeing I take such a
quantity."
"Certainly; I shall sell it to you for five cents a
gallon less than the wholesale price of a barrel; and
you can't ask anything better than that."
" That 's fair, I think ; and now let me see, how much
will it take?" The reader must remember that Mr.
Lincoln never studied arithmetic, though he could
solve such a problem as this, only give him time. He
had been obliged to think and act for himself from
boyhood, and, of course, contact with men and things
had given him some knowledge of figures, or, at least,
the ability to perform some problems mentally.
Mr. Lincoln continued: "Seventy cents a gallon —
that will be — let me see — seventy cents a gallon —
that will — "
"Why, one hundred gallons would come to seventy
dollars," interrupted Colby, "and four hundred would
come to two hundred and eighty dollars."
"Yes, I see it — four hundred gallons, and the rest
in money."
"That is it; it will make just ten barrels of forty
gallons each, and twenty dollars in money."
" I see it. I will agree to that. Ten barrels, and
46 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
the balance in money. And when shall we close the
bargain?"
''Just as soon as you propose to leave."
"That will be about the first of November. I shall
want the whiskey and money, though, a week before
that, so as to be all ready to start."
" A week before that it is, then. I agree to that,
and shall be here promptly at the time. Perhaps
I shall bring the whiskey before that, if it comes
right."
"Just as well, — as soon as you please."
So the bargain was struck, and Colby left.
Let the reader stop here to ponder this trade. A
homestead sold for ten barrels of whiskey and about
twenty dollars in money ! Surely Abraham's father
could not boast much of this world's goods ! And
then what an article to take in exchange for a home-
stead ! What a prospect for his son ! Many a home-
stead is now bartered away for whiskey, or some other
intoxicating beverage, and haggard want is all that
remains. But not so in this case. Mr. Lincoln did
not countenance immoderate drinking. He used whis-
key to some extent, in common with everybody else,
but he frowned upon intemperance.
Such a transaction as the above was not thought
singular at that day. Good people sold and drank
whiskey. There was no temperance movement m
Kentucky at that time. Indeed, it was not until about
that time that the subject of temperance attracted
attention in New England, and then it did not assume
the form of total abstinence. The pledge required
persons to abstain from immoderate drinking. It was
THE OLD HOME SOLD. 47
not till fifteen years thereafter that the pledge of total
abstinence was adopted.
At the present day the sale of a place for whiskey
would excite surprise and amazement, and subject the
character of the recipient of the whiskey to suspicion,
at least. People would make remarks about it, and
strongly suspect that the man loved whiskey more
than real estate. But not so at that time, when the
sale and use of it was regarded as right and proper in
every part of the country.
It was necessary to hasten preparations for removal,
as Colby desired to take possession as soon as he
could. Mr. Lincoln must take his goods to Indiana by
flat-boat, and return for his family, which would require
time as well as despatch. He had no flat-boat, and,
therefore, was under the necessity of building one.
This would require several days of hard labor. He
was competent for such an emergency ; for he had
constructed and run a flat-boat, on one or two trips, to
New Orleans, in the company and employment of
Isaac Bush. His trade and experience served him a
good purpose now.
Arrangements were completed for the flat-boat trip.
Colby had arrived with the whiskey and made a set-
tlement with Lincoln ; and the singular cargo was
loaded. The heavy wares, like his carpenter's tools,
pots, kettles, stools, puncheon-table, axes, etc., were
loaded upon the boat with the whiskey ; and the many
other things necessary to be done before " pulling up
stakes," as Lincoln called it, were attended to.
Mrs. Lincoln, Sarah, and Abraham, who had watched
48 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
the progress of the boat-building with peculiar inter-
est, and seen the boat launched and loaded, waited
upon the bank as the homely craft was pushed out
into deep water and floated down the river.
We cannot stop to detail much that occurred on the
voyage. One incident, however, deserves attention.
He had floated down the Rolling Fork into the Ohio
River, and proceeded quite a distance on his voyage,
experiencing no perils of wind or storm ; and he was
congratulating himself upon his success, when he met
with an accident. By some mishap, the boat tilted,
and the whiskey rolled from its position to the side,
causing him to upset. He sprung forward to the
other side in order to save his boat, but it was too
late. The whiskey was heavy, and, once started from
its position, there was no saving it or the boat. In a
moment he was tipped into the water, with all his
cargo. It was a good place for the whiskey, but not
so pleasant for him. However, he clung to the boat,
and made the best of it.
" Hold on there !" shouted a man who was at work
with three others on the bank of the river. " Hold
on, and we'll come to your help." He was not more
than three rods from the bank.
" Quick as you can," replied Mr. Lincoln.
"We'll be there in a jiffy," bawled one of them,
and all ran for a boat that was tied about twenty rods
below.
One of the number leaped into it, and, plying the
oar with all his might, he soon reached the craft that
was upset, and took Mr. Lincoln on board.
" Bad business for you," said the man.
THE OLD HOME SOLD. 49
"Not so bad as it might be," answered Mr. Lincoln.
" Rather lucky, I think, to meet with such an accident
where help is close by."
" But you've lost your cargo, though we may save
some of it if we set about it."
" Won't save much of it, I'm thinking. The water
is ten or fifteen feet deep there."
" Hardly that."
" Pretty near it, I'll warrant."
By this time they had reached the bank of the river,
and the men were consulting together about righting
Lincoln's boat and saving his cargo. Such accidents
were not uncommon on the Ohio, and those who lived
along the bank had lent a helping hand to many un-
fortunate adventurers. This was the case with the
men who came to Lincoln's rescue. They were not
long in laying their plans, nor dilatory in executing
them.
In a short time they secured his boat, and suc-
ceeded in putting it in good trim. They proceeded,
also, to save so much of his cargo as they could.
They called other men in the neighborhood, and, with
such apparatus as the vicinity afforded, they raked the
river, and recovered a part of his carpenters' tools,
axes, a spider, and some other articles. By much per-
severance and hard labor they succeeded in saving
three barrels of the whiskey. All these articles were
reloaded upon Lincoln's boat, and, with many thanks
to the kind-hearted men for their assistance, he pro-
ceeded on his way.
Before starting again, however, he consulted the
men who aided him with regard to the future of his
50 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
way ; and he decided, in view of the information de-
rived from them, to land at Thompson's Ferry, and
there secure a team to convey his goods into the in-
terior. He had previously settled in his mind, as we
have said, what part of Indiana he should make his
home.
Accordingly he took his boat and goods to Thomp-
son's Ferry, and there he found a man by the name of
Posey, whom he hired to take him eighteen miles, into
what is now Spencer County. This Posey owned a
yoke of oxen, and was quite well acquainted with that
section of country.
" No road into that county," said he. " We shall
have to pick our way, and use the ax some at that."
"I am sorry for that," answered Lincoln. "Are
there no settlers in that region ?"
" Yes ; here and there one, and they'll be right glad
to see you. We can put it through, if you say so."
" Put it through, then, I say," replied Lincoln.
The man agreed to carry his goods to his place
of destination, and take his boat for pay. Lincoln
would have no further use for his boat, so that it was
a good bargain for him, and equally good for Posey,
who wanted a boat.
Accordingly, the team was loaded with his effects,
and they were soon on their way. But, within a few
miles, they were obliged to use the ax to make a
road.
"Just as I expected," said Posey. "I have been
through the mill."
" How far do you expect we shall have to cut
through places like this ? " inquired Lincoln.
THE OLD HOME SOLD. 51
" Far enough, I have no doubt ; this is a real wil-
derness."
"Then, we must go at it, if we'd see the end soon."
"Yes; and hard work, too, it will be." And, with-
out wasting time or breath on words, they proceeded to
cut a road before them.
"I've cut through miles of just such a wilderness as
this," said Posey ; " and I shouldn't be surprised if we
had to cut a road half the way."
" I hope not," answered Lincoln. " If I thought
so, I should almost wish myself back in Kentucky."
"Should, hey?"
"Yes; it would be an everlasting job to cut through
to where I am going."
"Well, I don't suppose it will be as tough as this
much of the way, but bad enough, no doubt."
So with the resolution of veteran pioneers they
toiled on, sometimes being able to pick their way for a
long distance without chopping, and then coming to a
stand-still in consequence of dense forests. Suffice to
say, that they were obliged to cut a road so much of
the way that several days were employed in going
eighteen miles. It was a difficult, wearisome, trying
journey, and Mr. Lincoln often said that he never
passed through a harder experience than he did in
going from Thompson's Ferry to Spencer County,
Indiana.
Some two or three miles south of their place of des-
tination they passed the cabin of a hospitable settler,
who gave them a hearty welcome, and such refresh-
ments as his humble abode contained. He was well
acquainted with all that region, too, and suggested to
52 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE,
Mr. Lincoln the spot upon which he decided to erect
his cabin, and also volunteered to accompany them
thither.
The settlers at that day delighted to see others
coming to their vicinity to dwell, thus increasing theii
neighbors, and removing somewhat the loneliness of
pioneer life. They were ever ready to lend a helping-
hand to new-comers, and to share with them the scanty
blessings that Providence allowed them.
Mr. Lincoln was glad to reach the end of his jour-
ney ; and he found the spot suggested by his new
friend in the cabin, whose name was Wood, a very in-
viting one.
" Better than I expected," said Lincoln. " I wouldn't
ask for a better place than this."
" I've had my eye on it some time," replied Wood.
" Chance for more settlers, though," continued Lin-
coln. " One cabin in eighteen miles ain't very thick."
" That's so," added Posey. "There's elbow-room
for a few more families, and it won't be long before
they'll be here."
" But you've neighbors nearer than that," said Wood.
" There's one family not more than two miles east of
here."
" Then I shall have two neighbors," said Lincoln.
"And there are two other families within six or
eight miles, — one of them is north, and the other
west," continued Wood. "The fact is, people are
flockin' into this free State fast."
We must not dwell. Posey returned with his team
to Thompson's Ferry, and Mr. Lincoln, having de-
posited his goods, and secured Mr. Wood's promise to
THE OLD HOME SOLD. 53
look after them, directed his steps on foot back to his
family. It was about one hundred miles from his old
home in Kentucky to his new one in Indiana. This
was the distance, in a direct line. It was twenty-five
miles further, the way Mr. Lincoln came. It was a
part of his plan to return on foot. A direct line,
about southeast, would bring him to Hardin County,
— -a three days' journey.
His family gave him a cordial welcome, and Abra-
ham v/as somewhat taken with the story of his father's
adventure, particularly the part relating to his plunge
into the Ohio River.
Hasty preparations were made to remove the family,
and such things as he did not take with him on the
boat. He took no bedding or apparel with him on
the boat. These were left to go with the family, on
horseback. Two horses were provided, and on these
were packed the aforesaid articles, — Mrs. Lincoln, her
daughter, and Abraham sometimes riding and some-
times walking.
They were seven days in performing the journey,
camping out nights, with no other shelter than the
starry skies over them, and no other bed than blankets
spread upon the ground.
It was a novel experience even to them, nor was
it without its perils. Yet they had no fears. In that
country, at that day, neither men nor women allowed
themselves to cower in the presence of dangers.
Females were not the timid class that they are now.
They were distinguished for heroism that was truly
wonderful. Inured as they were to hardships and
perils, they learned to look dangers steadily in the
54 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
face, and to consider great privations as incidental to
pioneer life. Experiences that would now destroy the
happiness of most of the sex then served to develop
the courage and other intrepid virtues that qualified
them for the mission God designed they should fulfil.
Many facts are found in history illustrating the
heroism of Western females in the early settlement
of that part of our country. Soon after Abraham's
grandfather removed to Kentucky, an Indian entered
the cabin of a Mr. Daviess, armed with gun and toma-
hawk, for the purpose of plundering it, and capturing
the family. Mrs. Daviess was alone with her children.
With remarkable presence of mind she invited the
Indian to drink, at the same time setting a bottle of
whiskey on the table. The Indian set down his gun
to pour out a dram, and at once Mrs. Daviess seized
it, and, aiming' it at his head, threatened to blow
his brains out if he did not surrender. The Indian
dropped the bottle, sat down upon a stool, and promised
to do no harm if she would not fire. In that position
she kept him until her husband arrived.
In another instance, about the same time, the house
of a Mr. Merrill was attacked in the night by several
Indians, and Mr. Merrill was seriously wounded as he
went to the door. The savages attempted to enter the
house, when Mrs. Merrill and her daughter shut the
door against them, and held it. Then the Indians
hewed away a part of the door, so that one of them
could get in at a time. But Mrs. Merrill, though her
husband lay groaning and weltering in his blood, and
her children were screaming with fright, seized an ax,
when the first one had got partly into the room, and
THE OLD HOME SOLD. 55
dealt upon him a mortal blow. Then she drew his
body in and waited for the approach of another. The
Indians, supposing that their comrade had forced an
entrance, were exultant, and proceeded to follow him.
Nor did they discover their mistake until she had des-
patched four of them in this way. Then two of them
attempted to descend the chimney, whereupon she
ordered her children to empty the contents of a bed
upon the fire ; and the fire and smoke soon brought
down two Indians, half suffocated, into the room. Mr.
Merrill, by a desperate exertion, rose up, and speedily
finished these two with a billet of wood. At the same
time his wife dealt so heavy a blow upon the only re-
maining Indian at the door, that he was glad to retire.
Volumes might be filled with stories that show the
heroism of Western women at that day. We have
cited these two examples simply to exhibit their forti-
tude. Mrs. Lincoln was a resolute, fearless woman,
like her pioneer sisters, and hence was cool and self-
possessed amidst all exposures and dangers.
We said they were seven days on the journey. Two
miles from their destination they came to the cabin of
their nearest neighbor, Mr. Neale, who treated them
with great kindness, and promised to assist them on
the following day in putting up a dwelling. It was a
pleasant proffer of assistance, and it served to make
them happier as they lay down in their blankets on the
first night of their residence in Spencer County, Indiana.
We have been thus particular, in this part of the
narrative, because this experience had much to do with
the development of that courage, energy, decision,
and perseverance for which Abraham was thereafter
distinguished.
CHAPTER IV.
A NEW HOME MADE.
ST was in the new home in Indiana that
Abraham began to be a genuine pioneer
boy. The ax was the symbol of pioneer
life; and here he began to swing one in
dead earnest. From the time he was eight years old
until he had past his majority, he was accustomed to
the almost daily use of the ax. His physical strength
developed with wonderful rapidity, so that he became
one of the most efficient wood-choppers in that region.
After he became President, and the " War of the
Rebellion " was on his hands, he visited the hospi-
tals at City Point, where three thousand sick and
wounded soldiers were sheltered. He insisted upon
shaking hands with every one of them ; and, after per-
forming the feat, and friends were expressing their
fears that his arm would be lamed by so much hand-
shaking, he remarked, — " The hardships of my early
life gave me strong muscles.'' And, stepping out of
the open door, he took up a very large, heavy ax
which lay there by a log of wood, and chopped vigor-
ously for a few moments, sending the chips flying in
all directions ; and, then pausing, he extended his right
arm to its full length, holding the ax out horizon-
The Pioneer Boy.
A NEW HOME MADE. 57
tally, without its even quivering as he held it. Strong
men who looked on — men accustomed to manual labor
— could not hold the same ax in that position for a
moment. When the President left, a hospital steward
gathered up the chips, and laid them aside carefully,
" because they were the chips that Father Abraham
chopped."
It was necessary for the Lincoln family to erect a
habitation as soon as possible, and "a half-faced camp"
could be more easily and quickly built than a cabin,
because it could be constructed of "poles" instead of
logs. For this reason, Mr. Lincoln decided to erect
the "camp" for a temporary abode, and the next year
build a substantial log-cabin. He could cut the logs
and prepare slabs during the winter, so that the labor
of erecting a cabin would not be great after the plant-
ing of the next spring was done.
A "half -faced camp" was "a cabin enclosed on three
sides and open on the fourth," a very poor habitation
for the cold winters of Indiana. But pioneers accepted
almost any device for a shelter, and made the best of
cold, hunger, and hardship.
Abraham began pioneer life by assisting his father
in erecting the "camp." Cutting "poles" was an
easy method of initiating him into the hard work of
chopping wood. It was not, however, until the follow-
ing summer when the more substantial cabin was
erected, that Abraham engaged in the enterprise with
all his heart. A severe winter and unusual exposure
caused him to appreciate a better habitation.
After "clearing some land, and planting corn and
vegetables," in the spring of 1817, and the summer
58 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
work was well under way, Mr. Lincoln proceeded to
erect his log-cabin. His nearest neighbor rendered
him essential aid, and Abraham proved himself very
efficient for a boy of eight years. One who often
found shelter under the hospitable roof of this cabin
has furnished the following description of it : —
" It was sixteen by eighteen feet in size, without a
floor, the unhewn logs put together at the corners by
the usual method of notching them, and the cracks
between them stopped with clay. It had a shed-roof,
covered with slabs or clapboards split from logs. It
contained but one room, with a loft, slabs being laid on
the logs overhead, so as to make a chamber, to which
access was had by pins driven into the logs in one
corner. It had one door and one window. The latter,
however, was so ingeniously constructed, that it de-
serves particular attention. Mr. Lincoln made a sash
of the size of four six-by-eight squares of glass ; and, in
place of glass, which could not be obtained in that
region, he took the skin that covers the fat portion of
a hog, called the leaves, and drew it over the sash
tight. This furnished a very good substitute for glass ;
and the contrivance reflected much credit upon the in-
ventive genius of the builder/'
The cabin was furnished by Mr. Lincoln and
Abraham, and we will give some account of the
way of doing it.
"Bring me the auger, Abe," said his father, "and
that measure, too; we must have a bedstead now."
" I can bore the holes," answered Abraham, at the
same time bringing the auger and measure.
"No, you can't. It's tough work to bore two-inch
A NEW HOME MADE. 59
holes into such logs as these. But you can go and
find me a stick for a post, and two others to lay on it."
« That all?"
"Yes, that's all. I'll just make it in that corner,
and then I shall have but two holes to bore, and one
post to set up. It's not more than an hour's work."
By making the bedstead in the corner, the work was
but small. He measured off eight feet on one side,
and bored one hole, then four and a half feet on the
end, and bored another hole. Then, setting up the post
in its place, two sticks from each auger hole would meet-
on the post, thus making the framework of the bed.
This was soon done.
" Now for the bed-cord, Abe," said his father, jocosely.
"We must have something to lay the bed on."
"I thought you laid on slabs," answered Abraham,
not exactly comprehending the drift of his father's
remark.
" We haven't any other bed-cord, so pass me some of
those yonder." The slabs used to lay over the bed-
frame were like those on the roof.
"How many shall I bring?" and he began to pass
the slabs.
"About six, I think, will do it."
They were soon brought, and the bed was complete.
"Now, a sackful of straw on that will make a fine
bed." Dry leaves, hay and husks were sometimes used
for this purpose. Few had feathers in that region.
"You must keep on with your cabinet-making," said
Mrs. Lincoln. "We need a table as much as a bed."
" Of course. That comes next," replied her husband
" The legs for it are all ready."
60 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" Where are they ? " inquired Abraham.
" Out there," pointing to a small pile of limbs, sticks,
and slabs. Abraham went after them, while his father
sawed off a puncheon of the required length for the
table. A puncheon was made by splitting a log eigh-
teen inches, more or less, in diameter, the flat side laid
uppermost. Puncheons were used in this way to make
tables, stools, and floors.
By the time Abraham had brought the sticks for the
legs of the table, his father had the table part all ready,
and was proceeding to bore the holes for the legs.
" Now you may bring some more of those sticks in
the pile, — the shortest of them I shall want next."
"What for?"
" Oh, we must have some chairs now ; we've sat on
the ground long enough. I want the sticks for legs."
" Enough for one stool each now will do. We'll make
some extra ones when we get over our hurry. Four
times three are twelve ; I shall want twelve."
"Must they be just alike ? "
" No ; you can't find two alike, hardly. If they are
too long, I can saw them the right length."
All this time the work of making the table went on.
As Abraham had so large a number of stool-legs to
select and bring from the pile, the table was nearly
completed when his part of the work was done.
"A scrumptious table, I'm thinking," said Mr. Lin-
coln, as he surveyed it when it was fairly on its legs.
"Pioneer cabinet-work ain't handsome, but it's dura-
ble."
"And useful, too," said his wife. "Two of them
wouldn't come amiss."
A NEW HOME MADE. 6 1
" No ; and when I get time we'll have another.
Perhaps Abe can make you one some time. Can't
you make a table, Abe ? "
" I can try it."
" Well, you ought to succeed, now you have seen me
do it. You can try your hand at it some day. But
now for the stools."
A good slab was selected, of which four stools could
be made ; and before night the house was furnished at
small expense. A bed, table, and stools constituted
the furniture of this pioneer home, in which Abraham
spent twelve years of his eventful life.
Abraham occupied the loft above, ascending to his
lodgings by the ladder. It was his parlor-chamber,
where he slept soundly at night on the loose floor,
with no other bedding than blankets. Here, year
after year, he reposed nightly with as much content
and bliss as we usually find in the mansions of the
rich. He had never known better fare than this ; and
perhaps, at that age, he did not expect a larger share
of worldly goods.
By this time the loss of the family by the accident
on the Ohio River was nearly made good, except one
or two iron kettles, and a little very poor crockery.
The puncheon table and stools were replaced by better
ones. Through the winter and spring, the family had
got along as they could, anticipating an improved con-
dition in the autumn.
The pioneer families of that day needed the means
of converting their corn into meal. Meal was a staple
article of food, without which they could scarcely sur-
vive, but there were few grist mills in all the region
62 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
for many miles around. The nearest was Thompson's
Ferry, where Lincoln landed on his way to Indiana.
They were hand-mills, and could grind but little faster
than corn could be pounded into meal with mortar
and pestle.
" I'll have a mill of my own," remarked Mr. Lincoln.
si How ? " inquired Abraham.
" You'll see when it is done. This going eighteen
miles to mill don't pay : we must have one right here."
" And it won't take you longer to make one than it
would to go to the ferry once and back," said Mrs.
Lincoln.
"It's an all-day job to go there, and a pretty long
day at that." She knew what kind of a mill he re-
ferred to, for she had seen them.
" We'll have one before to-morrow night," added
Mr. Lincoln, with a shrug of the shoulder.
"How will you make it?" inquired Abraham, who
was growing interested.
" You'll see when it's done : I shall need some of
your help, and if you do first rate, you may try the rifle
some day." The boy had been promised before that
he should learn to shoot.
" I like that," said the lad.
" And so shall I, if you make a marksman. You
can be a great help to us by killing game to cook.
When you get so that you can pop over a turkey or a
deer, I sha'n't need to hunt any."
"Will you let me do it?"
" Yes, and be glad to have you. The woods are full
of game, and you shall have a chance to make a good
shot"
A NEW HOME MADE. 63
Abraham was delighted with the prospect of mak-
ing a gunner, and he went to his hard bed that night
with glowing thoughts of the future. The morrow's
sun found him up and ready to assist his father in
making a grist-mill.
"The first thing is a log," said his father; and he
proceeded to look for a tree of suitable dimensions ;
nor was he long in finding one.
" When I get it ready, I shall want you to make a
fire on't, Abe," he continued.
" What ! burn it up ? " screamed the boy, not under-
standing what his father meant.
" Ha! not quite so bad as that. It wouldn't be worth
much for a mill if 'twas burnt up."
" Didn't you say make a fire on it !"
" Yes, on the top of it ; we must burn a hole in it a
foot deep, to put corn in ; so get your fire ready."
It was not long before the tree was prostrate, and
a portion of the trunk cut off about four feet long.
Setting it upon one end, Mr. Lincoln continued,
" Here, Abe, that's what I mean by making a fire
on't. You must make a fire right on the top of it,
and burn a hole in it well nigh a foot deep. I'll help
you."
The fire was soon kindled, and Abraham's curiosity
was at the highest pitch. What was coming next was
more than he could tell, — and no wonder.
" Now, bring some water ; we must keep it wet."
" And put out the fire ? " said Abraham, inquiringly.
" No, no ; we must keep the outside of it wet, so
Hat the whole of it won't burn. We don't want to
burn the outside — only a hole in the centre."
64 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
Abraham saw through it now, and he hastened to
get the water. The fire was kept burning while Mr.
Lincoln looked up a spring-pole, to one end of which
he attached a pestle.
" What is that for ? " asked Abraham.
" You'll see when I get it into working order," re-
plied his father. " Keep the fire a-going till it's burnt
deep enough."
" It'll never burn as deep as you say."
"Yes, it will, only keep doing. That's the way
pioneers have to make grist mills."
" It'll take more than one day to burn it anyhow, at
this rate."
" No, it won't. It will burn faster when it gets a
little deeper. We'll have it done before night. You
must have patience and keep at it."
And they continued at the work. Mr. Lincoln pre-
pared the spring-pole somewhat like an old-fashioned
well-sweep ; and it was ready for use before the hole
was burned deep enough in the log. Then, with his
additional help, the log was ready before night, and
the coal was thoroughly cleaned out of the hole, and
the pestle on the pole adapted thereto.
This was all the mill that he proposed to have. It
was the kind used by many settlers at that day. It
was a mortar and pestle on a large scale, and, on the
whole, was much better than to go twenty miles to a
real mill that could grind but little faster. About
two quarts of corn could be put into the hole in the
log at once, and a few strokes from the pestle on the
spring-pole would reduce it to meal. In this way the
family could be provided with meal at short notice.
A NEW HOME MADE. 65
The apparatus, too, corresponded very well with all the
surroundings. For a Dutch oven and spider consti-
tuted the culinary furniture of the cabin. All their
other articles of iron-ware were at the bottom of the
Ohio River. The spider was used for griddle, stew-
pan, gridiron, kettle, and sundry other things, in addi-
tion to its legitimate purpose ; proving that man's real
wants are few in number. It is very convenient to
be provided with all the modern improvements in
this line ; but the experience of the Lincoln family
shows that happiness and life can be promoted with-
out them.
This mill served the family an excellent purpose for
several years. It was so simple that it needed no re-
pairs, and it was not dependent either on rain or sun-
shine for the power to go. Any of the family could
go to mill here. Abraham could carry a grist on his
arm and back, and play the- part of miller at the same
time.
The Lincoln family was not fairly settled in Indiana
until they moved into their new log-cabin in the autumn
of 181 7. By that time, Abraham had become a
thorough pioneer boy. He had made considerable
improvement, too, in "reading and writing." The
impulse that Hazel gave him in Kentucky was not lost
in Indiana. The three books of the family library
continued to supply his intellectual wants.
During the long winter evenings of that first winter
in Indiana, he read by the light of the fire ; for they
could not afford the luxury of any other light in their
cabin. This was true, very generally, of the pioneei
families : they had no more than was absolutely neces-
66 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
sary to supply their wants. They could exist without
lamp-oil or candles, and so most of them did without
either. They could afford the largest fire possible,
since wood was so plenty that they studied to get rid
of it. Hence the light of the fire was almost equal to
a good chandelier. Large logs and branches of wood
were piled together in the fireplace, and its mammoth
blaze lighted up every nook and corner of the dwelling.
Hence lamps were scarcely needed.
He practised penmanship with a charred stick on the
bark of trees and on slabs. In the winter, he wrote
his name in the snow with a stick ; and, in the summer,
he wrote it on the ground in the garden. In this way
he increased his ability to write, along with his ability
to read. Still, we can scarcely conceive of a more
unpromising situation for a bright boy.
The exact location of Mr. Lincoln's cabin was
between the forks of Big Pigeon and Little Pigeon
Creeks, one mile and a half from what is now the
village of Gentryville. His cabin was surrounded with
a dense forest of oaks, walnuts, sugar-maples, and other
varieties of trees found in the woods of North America.
The trees were of the largest growth, affording a refuge
and shelter for birds and beasts, which abounded here.
Deer and wild turkeys furnished abundant food for the
settlers, whose experience with the rifle was their
assurance of enough to eat. Lincoln was expert with
the rifle, and in the forests of Indiana game met him
on every hand. There was a small open space, or
prairie, within a short distance from his cabin, where
the deer resorted ; and here he made many a good shot
to supply his larder with venison.
A NEW HOME MADE. 6?
The situation of his cabin was all that Mr. Lincoln
could desire. There was one drawback, however, —
there was no spring of water within a mi]e. One of
the most fatiguing "chores" that Abraham and his
sister did, in those days of hardship, was to bring water
from the spring, one mile away. This need was sub-
sequently supplied in some way. Dennis Hanks says
that Mr. Lincoln "riddled his land like a honeycomb "
in search of water ; and, perhaps, he found it through
this "riddling" process. There is a story that he em-
ployed a Yankee with a divining-rod, who directed him
to excellent water for five dollars ; but it is only a
story.
How he obtained possession of this farm is explained
by Dennis Hanks, who says, " He settled on a piece of
government land, — eighty acres. The land he after-
wards bought under the Two-Dollar Act ; was to
pay for it in instalments ; one-half he paid, the other
half he never paid, and finally lost the whole of the
land."
We have said that Mr. Lincoln settled in Spencer
County. The location of his cabin was in Perry County ;
but, within a few years, through increasing immigration
and rapid changes and improvements, he found himself
in Spencer County, with the court-house at Rockport
and the village of Gentryville springing up about a
mile and a half distant. Nine years after he settled in
Indiana, a post-office was established at Gentryville.
David Turnham, who was a boy with Abraham in
Spencer County, furnishes an interesting account of
that country when he first removed thither, as follows :
"When my father came here in the spring of 1819,
68 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
he settled in Spencer County, within one mile of
Thomas Lincoln, then a widower. The chance for
schooling was poor ; but, such as it was, Abraham and
myself attended the same schools.
" We first had to go seven miles to mill ; and then it
was a hand-mill that would grind from ten to fifteen
bushels of corn in a day. There was but little wheat
grown at that time ; and, when we did have wheat, we
had to grind it on the mill described, and use it without
bolting, as there were no bolts in the country. In the
course of two or three years, a man by the name of
Huffman built a mill on Anderson River, about twelve
miles distant. Abe and I had to do the milling on
horseback, frequently going twice to get one grist.
Then they began building horse-mills of a little better
quality than the hand-mills.
" The country was very rough, especially in the low-
lands, so thick with bush that a man could scarcely
get through on foot. These places were called Roughs.
The country abounded in game, such as bears, deer,
turkeys, and the smaller game.
" At that time there were a great many deer-licks ;
and Abe and myself would go to these licks sometimes,
and watch of nights to kill deer, though Abe was not
so fond of a gun as I was. There were ten or twelve of
these licks in a small prairie on the creek, lying between
Mr. Lincoln's and Mr. Wood's.
" The people in the first settling of this country were
very sociable, kind, and accommodating; but there
was more drunkenness and stealing on a small scale,
more immorality, less religion, less well-placed con-
fidence."
A NEW HOME MADE. 69
Mr. Turnham's allusion to the prevalence of drunken-
ness, at that clay, renders it necessary to state that the
prevalence of this evil was the source of much anxiety
to Mrs. Lincoln. The danger to her boy was immi-
nent ; and many a word of warning and counsel dropped
from her lips into his young ears. When Abraham
began his public career, and he fearlessly and firmly
avowed his total abstinence principles, he said that he
owed much to one counsel of his mother; viz., "Men
become drunkards because they begin to drink ; if you
never begin to drink, you will never become a drunkard."
The sagacity and wisdom of the mother in this
striking remark will not appear to the reader until it
is remembered that, at that day, there was not a total
abstinence society or pledge in the world. Mrs. Lin-
coln had never heard of a temperance movement ; for,
indeed, there had been none, except on the smallest
scale, in a few localities. Yet, she proposed the only
safeguard to her boy, — one that proved of inestimable
value to him, as he publicly and privately acknowledged
many years thereafter.
We have given in detail the time, place, and circum-
stances of Abraham's discipline in early life, that the
reader may appreciate the force of character which
lifted the incubus of poverty and obscurity, and made
him famous in the world.
CHAPTER V.
AFTER GAME.
|T was in the spring of 1817, when Thomas
Lincoln was preparing to put his first seed
into the soil of Indiana, that Abraham made
his first shot at game. His parents were
discussing the old subject — their loss on the Ohio
River; when Mrs. Lincoln remarked, —
" I'm thoroughly convinced that our loss was all for
the best. . I think I can see it."
"Glad if you can," replied Mr. Lincoln, "you're
pretty good for seeing what nobody else can ;" and he
uttered this sentence rather thoughtlessly, as his mind
was really absorbed in another subject.
" I don't know about that ; but what in the world
would you have done with all the whiskey, if we had
not lost any of it in the river ? Never could sell it all
here, — and what a job it would have been to get it
here from the Ferry ! "
" Well, if I didn't sell it, we should be about as well
off as we are now."
" Except the cost of getting the barrels here."
"That wouldn't be much."
"Then there's the danger of the evil it might do.
It's dangerous stuff any way, as the case of many
men shows."
AFTER GAME. J\
"I know that ; but I don't fear for myself."
" Neither do I fear for you ; but I was thinking of
Abe. You know how it is with boys in these times,
and how much misery whiskey makes in a great many
families. And I can't help thinking that it is all for
the best that most of it is in the river."
" I can't say but what it is ; I hope it is. It makes
mischief enough, if that's all ; and if I dreamed it
would make any in my family, I should wish that all
of it was at the bottom of the river."
" You may as well be glad now ; for we have less to
fear ; and perhaps the Lord thought it was best to put
so much of it where it could injure no one."
" So be it, then ; but I must go to my work. This
weather is too fine to be lost in doing nothing. The
stuff is all sold now, so that there is no fear on that
score." He sold a barrel to Posey, the teamster, who
hauled his goods from the Ferry, and the remainder
he disposed of in the course of the winter.
Mr. Lincoln arose and went out to his work, and
within ten minutes afterwards Abraham came rushing
into the cabin in a state of great excitement.
" Mother," he exclaimed, " there's a flock of turkeys
right out here that I can shoot. See there," and he
directed her to look through a crack in the cabin where
the clay had fallen off. " Let me shoot, mother."
"Sure enough, Abe, there is a flock," responded his
mother, as she caught sight of the turkeys ; "a fine
shot it is," and she hastened for the rifle that was
always kept loaded.
" Be quick, mother, I'll fire right through the hole,"
continued Abe, under increasing excitement.
72 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
His mother was not long in bringing the rifle, and
adjusting it through the loop-hole between the logs,
when, with a few quick words of caution, she allowed
him to fire.
"Bang!" went the rifle, and resounded through the
forest with unusual volume, as Abraham thought in
his intense earnestness. Both mother and son ran out
to discover the result of the shot, and by the time they
reached the spot, the smoke had cleared away, and
there lay one of the flock dead.
" Killed one," shouted Abraham, as he lifted an extra
large turkey from the ground.
" So you have," answered his mother, under almost
as much excitement as her son.
"A monster!" continued the lad, surveying the
lusty fellow with boyish pride. "Did you ever see
such a big one ? "
" It is a very large one," replied his mother; "that
was a good shot, Abe."
By this time Mr. Lincoln had reached the spot.
Hearing the report of the gun, he left his work, and
hurried back to learn the cause.
"What's the firing for ? " he asked hurriedly.
" I've killed a turkey," answered Abraham, exhibit-
ing in triumph the dead bird.
" Did you do that, Abe ? "
" Nobody else did it," was the boy's rather char-
acteristic reply.
" A capital shot, Abe ; you'll make a good one with
the rifle if you keep on," his father added, intending to
praise the boy. The fact was it was not a capital shot
at all : he accidentally killed the turkey. He did not
AFTER GAME. 73
understand the use of a gun well enough to make a
"capital shot." The turkey happened to sit in the
way of the bullet, and was killed in consequence —
that was all there was of it.
We have already said that pioneer families were
dependent upon game for food. On this account
fathers and sons became good marksmen , and even
females were often expert with the rifle. Mrs. Lincoln
could load and fire off a gun if necessary. In common
with her sex, she was accustomed to such things, and
adapted herself to circumstances.
Marvellous stories are told about the skill of the
pioneers in the use of the rifle, and good authority
substantiates their truthfulness. One writer says :
" Several individuals who conceive themselves adepts
in the management of the rifle, are often seen to meet
for the purpose of displaying their skill ; and they put
up a target, in the centre of which a common-sized
nail is hammered for about two-thirds its length. The
marksmen make choice of what they consider a proper
distance, and which may be forty paces. Each man
clears the interior of his tube, places a ball in the
palm of his hand, and pours as much powder from his
horn as will cover it. This quantity is supposed to be
sufficient for any distance short of a hundred yards.
A shot that comes very close to the nail is considered
that of an indifferent marksman : the bending of the
nail is of course somewhat better ; but nothing less
than hitting it right on the head is satisfactory. One
out of three shots generally hits the nail ; and should
the shooters amount to half a dozen, two nails are fre-
quently needed before each can have a shot."
74 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
The same writer continues : " The snuffing of a
candle with a ball I first had an opportunity of seeing
near the banks of Green River, not far from a large
pigeon-roost, to which I had previously made a visit.
I had heard many reports of guns during the early part
of a dark night, and knowing them to be those of rifles,
I went forward toward the spot to ascertain the cause.
On reaching the place, I was welcomed by a dozen
tall, stout men, who told me they were exercising for
the purpose of enabling them to shoot under night, at
the reflected light from the eyes of a deer or wolf by
torchlight. A fire was blazing near, the smoke of
which rose curling among the thick foliage of the
irees. At a distance which rendered it scarcely dis-
tinguishable, stood a burning candle, but which, in
reality, was only fifty yards from the spot on which
we all stood. One man was within a few yards of it
to watch the effects of the shots, as well as to light
the candle, should it chance to go out, or to replace it,
should the shot cut it across. Each marksman shot
in his turn. Some never hit either the snuff or the
candle, and were congratulated with a loud laugh,
while others actually snuffed the candle without
putting it out, and were recompensed for their dex-
terity by numerous hurrahs. One of them, who was
particularly expert, was very fortunate, and snuffed the
candle three times out of seven, while all the other shots
either put out the candle or cut it immediately under
tfie light."
Such was the skill of riflemen at that day. Hence
it was of considerable importance that boys should
learn how to fire accurately. Not as a pastime
AFTER GAME. 75
was it valued, but as a means of gaining subsistence.
In addition to procuring game for the table, furs were
in great demand, and there were many animals valu-
able on this account. It was necessary, therefore,
that Abraham should learn the art.
The summer of 1817 passed away, and early in the
autumn the loneliness of their wilderness-life was
somewhat relieved by the coming of old friends.
Thomas and Betsy Sparrow, who reared Nancy Hanks
(Mrs. Lincoln), came to settle by their side. Mr. Lin-
coln had just removed into his new cabin, so the
Sparrows at once began housekeeping in the half-face
camp. Dennis Hanks, also, had a home with the
Sparrows, and Betsy was his aunt ; so Dennis re-
moved to Indiana with them.
It was a happy day for the Lincolns when the
Sparrows became their neighbors. " Sparrows on
the house-top," had often regaled them with song, but
the human Sparrows from Kentucky were to them
more than song — they were society. To Abraham
especially was their coming a real godsend ; for now
he had an intimate and constant companion in his jolly
cousin, Dennis Hanks. Such an acquisition to a boy
in the woods was more of a boon than language can
describe.
CHAPTER VI
DARKER DAYS.
BRAHAM continued to peruse the three
books of the family library, —the Bible,
Catechism, and Spelling-Book. There was
no prospect that another book of any sort
would be added to the number. The thirst for knowl-
edge begotten in his soul already was forced to find
its aliment in this narrow compass. The result was,
that he knew the Spelling-Book and Catechism by
heart ; and he could repeat much of the Bible. His
mind was hungry for knowledge ; but could not find
enough to eat. It was daily put upon " short allow-
ance."
In these circumstances he longed for other books.
He began to tire of the Bible. " I don't want to read
the Bible all the time," he often remarked; "I wish I
could have some other book to read." He did not
know what other books were in existence. His parents
were not wiser than he in that respect. But his mind
was ravenous, and would have accepted almost any
sort of a literary dish, good, bad, or indifferent. It
pleaded for books.
While he was in this famishing intellectual state, a
fearful disease broke out among the settlers, called
DARKER DAYS. 77
"the milk disease." Cows that gave the milk, and the
people who -drank it, became sick, suffered, and died.
The first case was fifteen or twenty miles away, but
near enough to create alarm in the Lincoln cabin. It
was not long, however, before the dreaded visitor came
to their door. Mr. and Mrs. Sparrow were stricken
down by the disease nearly at the same time. It was
in the summer of 1818. Consternation now turned
the attention of Abraham from books to the perils of
the hour. His longing for other books was exchanged
for fear of sudden death.
The Sparrows were very sick, and no doctor within
thirty or forty miles. Mr. Lincoln and his wife, to-
gether with other settlers, rendered all the assistance
in their power to the ill-fated couple. Week after week
their sufferings were prolonged, sometimes worse, some-
times better, hope rising or waning accordingly.
" We must remove them into our cabin," said Mrs.
Lincoln to her husband ; " they must have better
quarters and care." Mr. and Mrs. Sparrow were
as father and mother to Mrs. Lincoln, and her love
for them was like that of a daughter.
" Perhaps it will be best ; they can't live long any
where in my opinion," Mr. Lincoln replied.
" I can look after them much better here," con-
tinued Mrs. Lincoln ; " and whether they live or die,
we shall have the satisfaction of knowing that we did
everything in our power for them."
The sick couple were removed into the Lincoln
cabin in September, and no one was more rejoiced over
the event than Dennis Hanks, to whom, also, the Spar-
rows were as father and mother. Dennis emphasized
7% PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
his joy over the removal by saying he was glad "ta
get out of the mean little Jialf-face camp!'
The removal brought no relief to the sinking pa
tients. In a few days both of them died, spreading
gloom over the neighborhood, and creating the sad
dest experience Abraham and Dennis ever knew.
A spot was selected for the burial-place of the deadg
about one half mile from the cabin, on a beautiful knoll
that nestled under the shadow of mammoth trees. Mr.
Lincoln was the only settler in the vicinity capable of
making a coffin ; and he set about the sorrowful work,
making them out of "green lumber, cut with a whip-
saw." They were rough and heavy, like everything
else connected with pioneer life ; but answered their
purpose well. Without funeral ceremonies, the
neighbors gathered from far and near, and tearfully
committed their deceased friends to the dust.
A few days only elapsed after the burial, before
Mrs. Lincoln was attacked, much more violently than
the Sparrows, with the same dreaded disease. It was
about three o'clock in the morning. Abraham was
awakened out of a sound sleep, and hurried away for
the nearest neighbor, Mrs. Woods, and, at the same
time, Dennis, who became a permanent member of
Lincoln's family after the death of the Sparrows, and
was Abraham's bed-fellow in the loft, made his ap-
pearance, to render any assistance within his power.
In the absence of physicians, a strong bond of sym-
pathy united pioneer families, and the feminine mem-
bers were always ready to tender their best nursing
abilities to the sick. Nor were they altogether unsuc-
cessful in their treatment. Some of them exhibited
DARKER DAYS. 79
much skill in managing diseases, having been thrown
upon their own resources for a long period, reflect-
ing and studying for themselves. As physicians could
not be had, they were compelled to do the best thing
possible for themselves.
Mrs. Woods was not long in coming to her relief,
and before the close of that day several other neighbors,
who were notified of Mrs. Lincoln's sickness, came to
proffer assistance. The tidings of her sudden attack
spread so rapidly, that, within two or three days, all
the pioneer families in the vicinity heard of it, and their
proffers of assistance were prompt and tender. But the
patient steadily grew worse, and soon became satisfied
that her sickness would prove fatal. Some persons
attacked with that singular disease lingered for weeks,
as the Sparrows did ; but Mrs. Lincoln's sickness was
violent and brief. On the fifth day of October, she
expired, leaving the Lincoln cabin more desolate than
ever. Coming so speedily after the Sparrows passed
away, death had additional terrors to the living. Den-
nis Hanks remembers the woe-begone appearance of
Abraham from the time his mother's life was despaired
of until weeks after she was laid in her grave. He was
nine years old, thoughtful and sensible, not much in-
clined to talk about the event, but ever looking as if
a pall were drawn over his heart. The reader can
imagine, perhaps, what no language can convey, the
loss of a good mother to a bright, obedient, and trusting
boy, hid away in the woods, where a mother's presence
and love must be doubly precious. The bitter ex-
perience was well suited to make the loneliness of
pioneer life vastly more lonely, and its real hardships
vastly harder.
SO PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
Preparations were made for the burial. With his
own hands, Thomas Lincoln constructed a rough coffin
for his wife, and she was laid beside the Sparrows on
the knoll. One party thinks that one neighbor read
the Scriptures and another offered prayer; but it is
probable that she was buried, as her foster-parents
were, without any ceremonies — silently deposited
in the ground with no special tribute, save honest
tears.
Here, better than elsewhere, we can describe an
event that is worthy of record. It occurred several
months after the death of Mrs. Lincoln.
" You must write a letter for me, Abe, to Parson
Elkins," said his father, one evening. " You can write
well enough now to do that/' Abraham had passed
his tenth birthday.
" If you can tell me what to write, I can do it,"
answered the boy.
"That I will do. It wM be your first letter, you
know, and you must remember that your father never
wrote one — never knew enough to write one."
" What do you want I should write about ? " inquired
Abraham.
"Write about the death of your mother. He knows
nothing about it yet ; and I want to ask him to visit us,
and preach a funeral sermon."
" When do you want he should come ? "
"When he can, I s'pose. He'll take his own time
for it, though I hope he'll come soon."
"He may be dead," suggested Abraham.
"What makes you think so?"
"He's as likely to die as mother, ain't he? and he
Mother of Abkaham Lincoln
DARKER DAYS. 8l
may be dead when we don't know it, the same as she's
dead when he don't know it."
" Well, there's something in that," answered his
father ; "but we'll see how you can make out writing a
letter."
Pen and paper were provided, and Mr. Lincoln pro-
ceeded to dictate the letter. He directed him to write
about the death of Mrs. Lincoln, when it occurred, and
under what circumstances, and to invite him to visit
them, and preach a funeral sermon. He also gave a
description of their new home, and their journey
thither, and wrote of their future prospects.
"Now read it over," said Mr. Lincoln.
"The whole of it?"
" Of course ; I want to hear it all. I may think of
something else by that time."
Abraham commenced to read it, while his father sat
the very picture of satisfaction. There was genuine
happiness to him in having his son prepared to write a
letter. Never before had there been a member of his
family who could perform this feat. It was a memor-
able event to him.
"See how much it is worth to be able to write," said
he, as Abraham finished reading the letter. "It's worth
ten times as much as it cost to be able to write only
that one letter."
" It ain't much work to learn to write," said Abra-
ham ; " I'd work as hard again for it before I'd give
it up."
" You'd have to give it up, if you were knocked about
as I was when a boy."
"I know that."
82 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" You don't know it as I do ; and I hope you never
will. But it's worth more than the best farm to know
how to write a letter as well as that."
" I shall write one better than that yet," said Abraham.
" But how long will it take for the letter to go to Parson
Elkins?"
" That's more than I can tell ; but it will go there
some time, and I hope it will bring hhri here."
" He won't want to come so far as this," suggested
Abraham.
" It ain't so far for him as it was for us."
"Why ain't it?"
" Because he lives nearer the line of Indiana than we
did. It ain't more than seventy-five miles for him to
come, and he often rides as far as that."
The letter went on its errand, and Abraham was
impatient to learn the result. On the whole, it was
rather an important event in his young life, — the
writing of that first letter. Was it strange that he
should query whether it would reach the good minister
to whom it was sent? Would it be strange if the
writing of it proved one of the happy influences that
started him off upon a career of usefulness and fame ?
We shall see.
Mr. Lincoln had much to say to his neighbors about
the letter that his son had written, and they had much
to say to him. It was considered remarkable for a boy
of his age to do such a thing. Not one quarter of the
adults in all that region could write; and this fact
rendered the ability of the boy in this regard all the
more marvellous. It was noised abroad, and the result
was, that Abraham had frequent applications from the
DARKER DAYS. 83
neighbors to write letters for them. Nor was he indis-
posed to gratify their wishes. One of his traits of
character was a generous disposition to assist others,
and it prompted him to yield to their wishes in writing
letters for them. Nor was it burdensome to him, but
the opposite. He delighted to do it. And thus, as
a consequence of his acquiring the art of penmanship,
far-distant and long-absent friends of the pioneer fam-
ilies heard from their loved ones.
The letter brought the parson. After the lapse of
about three months he came. The letter reached him
in Kentucky, after considerable delay, and he embraced
the first opportunity to visit his old friends. Abraham
had almost concluded that his letter was lost, as the
favorite minister did not come. But one day, when
the lad was about two miles from home, who should he
see coming but Parson Elkins, on his old bay horse !
He recognized him at once, and was delighted to see
him.
"Why, Abe, is that you?" exclaimed the parson.
" Am I so near your home ? "
"Yes, sir; did you get my letter?" Abraham
thought of the memorable letter the first thing. He
had good evidence before him that the letter reached
its destination, but he would know certainly.
" Your letter ! " exclaimed Parson Elkins, inquiringly.
" I got your father's letter." Abraham did not stop to
think that the letter went in his father's name.
" I wrote it," he said.
" You wrote it ! Is that so ? "
"Yes, sir; father can't write, you know."
" O, yes ; I do remember now that he couldn't write ;
84 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
and so you did it ? Not many boys that can write like
that." "
" It was the first letter I ever wrote."
"Better still is that, — the first one? Well, you
needn't be ashamed of that."
They were advancing towards the cabin during this
conversation, Abraham running alongside the horse,
and the parson looking kindly upon him.
" There's our house ! " exclaimed Abraham, as they
came in sight of it. " We live there," pointing with
his finger.
" Ah ! that's a pleasant place to live. And there's
your father, I think, too."
" Yes, that's he. He'll be glad to see you."
"And I shall be glad to see him."
By this time they came near Mr. Lincoln, who re-
cognized Parson Elkins, and gave him a most cordial
greeting. He was really taken by surprise, although
he had not relinquished all expectation of the parson
coming.
" You find me in a lonely condition," said Mr. Lin-
coln. " Death has made a great change in my family."
" Very great indeed," responded Mr. Elkins. " I
know how great your loss is ; but ' Whom the Lord
loveth, he chasteneth.'"
Assenting to this, Mr. Lincoln continued, —
" Now, let me say, that, while you are here, I want
you should preach a funeral sermon. You know all
about my wife. You will stay over next Sunday,
won't you?" It was now Wednesday.
"Why, yes, I can stay as long as that, though I
must be about my Master's work."
DARKER DAYS. 85
" You will be about your Master's work, if you stay
and preach a funeral sermon ; and it may do a great
sight of good."
" Very true ; and I shall be glad to stay ; for if any
one ever deserved a funeral sermon, it is your wife.
But where shall I preach it?"
" At her grave. I've had that arranged in my mind
for a long time ; and we'll notify the people ; there will
be a large attendance. The people thought a deal of
her here."
It was arranged that Mr. Elkins should preach the
funeral sermon at the grave of Mrs. Lincoln on the
following Sabbath. Accordingly, notice was sent
abroad to the distance of twelve or fifteen miles, and
a platform was erected near the grave. Every prep-
aration was made for the solemn event. Although
nearly a year had elapsed since Mrs. Lincoln died, yet
a sermon to her memory was no less interesting to
her surviving friends.
In the mean time, Mr. Elkins busied himself in in-
tercourse with the family ; and he visited some of the
neighbors, and conversed with them on spiritual
things. Abraham, too, received his special attention.
The boy had improved rapidly since he left Kentucky,
and his remarkable precocity was suited to draw the
attention of such a preacher.
The Sabbath arrived, — a bright, beautiful day.
From a distance of twelve or fifteen miles, the settlers
came to listen to the sermon. Entire families assem-
bled, parents and children, from the oldest to the
youngest. Hoary age and helpless childhood were
there. They came in carts, on horseback, and on foot,
86 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
any way to get there. As they had preaching only
when one of these pioneer preachers visited that vicin-
ity, it was a treat to most of the inhabitants, and they
manifested their interest by a general turn-out. The
present occasion, however, was an unusual one, as the
funeral sermon of Mrs. Lincoln was to be preached.
Parson Elkins was an earnest man, and the occasion
inspired him with unusual fervor. None of the people
had ever listened to him before, except the Lincoln
family, and they were delighted with his services.
His tribute to the memory of Mrs. Lincoln was con-
sidered just and excellent. None thought that too
much was said in her praise. On the other hand, the
general feeling was rather, as one of the number ex-
pressed it, that, " say what he might in praise of her,
he couldn't say too much."
Abraham was deeply interested in the sermon, and
it brought all his mother's tenderness and love afresh
to his mind. To him it was almost like attending her
funeral over again. Her silent dust was within a few
feet of him, and vivid recollection of her worth was in
his heart.
He drank in the sentiments of the discourse, too.
He usually did this, as he was accustomed to think for
himself. A few years later he often criticized the ser-
mons to which he listened, much to the amusement of
those with whom he conversed. He sometimes called
in question the doctrines preached. This was one of
the things in which his precocity appeared. It was at
this point that his mental activity and power were often
seen. But the sentiments of the aforesaid funeral
sermon especially impressed his mind.
DARKER DAYS. 87
At this time of his life he was a close listener to the
conversation of the neighbors ; and he would become
almost vexed over the conversation of some of them,
who talked so unintelligibly through ignorance, that
he could not understand them. His active brain
labored to compass every subject, and he sometimes
fretted over unlettered talkers whose meaning he
failed to comprehend. After he came into the pos-
session of additional books, he was wont to discuss their
subject-matter, and express his own views freely.
In this respect he was unlike most boys, who are
superficial in their views of things. They read, and
that is the end of it. They think no more about it, —
at least, they do not inquire into the why and where-
fore of matters stated ; and so the habit of sliding over
things loosely is formed. They do not think for
themselves. They accept things as true, because
others say they are true. They are satisfied with
knowing that things are, without asking why they are.
But Abraham was not so. He thought, reflected ;
and this developed his mental powers faster than even
school could do it.
The reader should understand more about these
pioneer preachers, in order to appreciate the influ-
ences that formed Abraham's character, and therefore
we will stop here to give some account of them.
They were not generally men of learning and cul-
ture, though some of them were men of talents. Few,
if any of them, were ever in college, and some of them
were never in school. But they had a call to preach,
as they believed, and good and true hearts for doing it.
Many of them preached almost every day, travelling
88 P I ONE ER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
from place to place on horseback, studying their ser*
mons in the saddle, and carrying about with them all
the library they had in their saddle-bags. They stopped
where night overtook them, and it was sometimes
miles away from any human habitation, with no bed
but the earth, and no covering but the canopy of
heaven. They labored without a salary, and were
often poorly clothed and scantily fed, being con-
strained to preach by the love of Christ. The follow-
ing account of two pioneer preachers, by Milburn, will
give the reader a better idea of this class of useful
men than any description of ours, and it will be **ead
with interest : —
" One of these preachers, who travelled all through
the Northwestern Territory, a tall, slender, graceful
man, with a winning countenance and kindly eye,
greatly beloved by all to whom he ministered, was
presented by a large landholder with a title-deed of
three hundred and twenty acres. The preacher was
extremely poor, and there had been many times when
he received scarcely enough support to keep soul and
body together. Yet he labored on, and did much
good. He seemed pleased with his present of land,
and went on his way with a grateful heart. But in
three months he returned, and met his benefactor at
the door, saying, ' Here, sir, I want to give you back
your title-deed.'
" ' What's the matter ? ' said his friend^ surprised
' Any flaw in it ? '
" ' No.'
"'Isn't it good land?'
" ' Good as any in the State.'
DARKER DAYS. 89
" ' Sickly situation ? '
" ' Healthy as any other.'
" ' Do you think I repent my gift ? '
" 'I haven't the slightest reason to doubt your gen-
erosity.'
" 'Why don't you keep it, then ? '
"'Well, sir,' said the preacher, 'you know I am
very fond of singing, and there's one hymn in my
book the singing of which is one of the greatest com-
forts of my life. I have not been able to sing it with
my whole heart since I was here. A part of it runs
in this way : —
" No foot of land do I possess
No cottage in the wilderness ;
A poor wayfaring man,
I lodge awhile in tents below,
And gladly wander to and fro,
Till I my Canaan gain ;
There is my house and portion fair,
My treasure and my heart are there,
And my abiding home."
"'Take your title-deed,' he added; 'I had rather
sing that hymn with a clear conscience than own
America.'
" There was another preacher of the pioneer class
so intent upon his work that hunger and nakedness
did not affright him. He was more scholarly than
most of the preachers around him, and often sat up
half the night, at the cabins of the hunters where he
stopped, to study. These cabins were about twelve
by fourteen feet, and furnished accommodations for
the family, sometimes numbering ten or twelve chil*
90 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
dren ; and, as the forests abounded in 'varmints] the
hens and chickens were taken in for safe keeping.
Here, after the family had retired, he would light a
pine knot, 'stick it up in one corner of the huge lire-
place, lay himself down on the flat of his stomach in
the ashes,' and study till far into the night.
" Many a time was the bare, bleak mountain-side
his bed, the wolves yelling a horrid chorus in his ears.
Sometimes he was fortunate enough to find a hollow
log, within whose cavity he inserted his body, and
found it a good protection from the rain or frost.
" Once, seated at the puncheon dinner-table with
a hunter's family, the party is startled by affrighted
screams from the door-yard. Rushing out, they be-
hold a great wildcat bearing off the youngest child.
Seizing a rifle from the pegs over the door, the
preacher raises it to his shoulder, casts a rapid glance
along the barrel, and delivers his fire. The aim has
been unerring, but too late, — the child is dead, already
destroyed by the fierce animal.
" That same year he had a hand-to-hand fight with
a bear, from which conflict he came forth victor, his
knife entering the vitals of the creature just as he was
about to be enfolded in the fatal hug.
" Often he emerged from the wintry stream, his
garments glittering in the clear, cold sunlight, as if
they had been of burnished steel armor, chill as the
touch of death. During that twelvemonth, in the
midst of such scenes, he travelled on foot and horse-
back four thousand miles, preached four hundred times,
and found, on casting up the receipts, — yarn socks,
woollen vests, cotton shirts, and a little silver change,
DARKER DAYS.
— that his salary amounted to twelve dollars and ten
cents.
" Yet he persevered, grew in knowledge and influ-
ence, became a doctor of divinity, and finally was
made president of a university. He is known on the
page of history as Henry Bidleman Bascom."
Such were the pioneer preachers of the West ; of
simple-hearted piety, lofty faith, a fiery zeal, un-
wavering fortitude, and a practical turn of mind,
through which they did a great work for God.
We have made this digression from the thread of
our story, to show what influences of the ministry
were thrown around Abraham's early life. It is true
the preachers to whom he listened were not " circuit-
riders," as travelling preachers were called. They
were Baptist ministers, who lived within twenty miles,
and who occasionally preached in that neighborhood.
During the first few years of Abraham's residence in
Indiana, there was one Jeremiah Cash, who sometimes
preached in the vicinity, and the young listener be-
came much interested in him. A few years later, two
others came to that section of country to live. Their
names were John Richardson and Young Lamar.
One of them dwelt seven or eight miles from Abra-
ham's home on the north, and the other eight or ten
miles to the south ; and both of them were wont to
preach at Mr. Lincoln's cabin, and at other cabins, as
they had opportunity. Sometimes they preached in
the open air, as Mr. Elkins did the funeral sermon.
This was always the case when more people attended
than could crowd into a log-house.
92 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
Such was all the pulpit influence that reached the
boyhood and youth of Abraham. Yet it left indelible
impressions upon his mind. Though it was small and
inconstant, apparently, in comparison with the pulpit
advantages that boys enjoy at the present day, it
imbued his soul with sentiments that were never
obliterated. He was much indebted to the unpolished
eloquence of those pioneer preachers, whose sterling
piety caused them to proclaim the truth with fidelity
and earnestness. This was one of the few influences
that contributed to make him a remarkable man.
CHAPTER VII.
BRIGHTER HOURS.
|BRAHAM deeply felt the change that death
had wrought in his cabin home, and, for
weeks, his mind was absorbed in his loss.
Perhaps his oppressive sense of loneliness
and his grief would have continued, but for an unex-
pected blessing that came to him in the shape of a
book. His father met with a copy of The Pilgrim's
Progress, at the house of an acquaintance, twenty
miles away or more, and he borrowed it for Abraham.
The boy was never more happily surprised than he
was when his father, on his return, said :
" Look here, Abe, I've found something for you,"
at the same time exhibiting the book.
" Found it ! " exclaimed Abraham, supposing that his
father meant that he picked it up in the woods or fields.
" No, no ; you don't understand me. I meant that I
came across it at Pierson's house, and I borrowed it for
you."
" Pilgrim's Progress," said Abraham, taking the book
and reading the title ; " that will be good, I should think."
He knew nothing about the book ; he never heard of it
before.
94 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
"I shall want to hear it," said his father. "I heard
about that book many years ago, but I never heard it
read."
"What is it about?" asked Abraham.
" You'll find that out by reading it," answered his
father.
"And I won't be long about it neither," continued
Abraham. " I know I shall like it."
" I know you will, too."
" I don't see how you know, if you never heard it
read."
" On account of what I've heard about it."
And it turned out to be so. Abraham sat down to
read the volume very much as some other boys would
sit down to a good dinner. He found it better even
than he expected. It was the first volume that he was
provided with after the spelling-book, Catechism, and
Bible, and a better one could not have been found.
He read it through once, and was half-way through it
a second time, when he received a present of another
volume, in which he became deeply interested. It was
.^Esop's Fables, presented to him, partly on account of
his love of books, and partly because it would serve to
occupy his mind and lighten his sorrow.
He read the fables over and over until he could repeat
almost the entire contents of the volume. He was
thoroughly interested in the moral lesson that each
fable taught, and derived therefrom many valuable
hints that he carried with him through life. On the
whole, he spent more time over ^Esop's Fables than he
did over The Pilgrim's Progress, although he was really
charmed by the latter. But there was a practical turn
BRIGHTER HOURS. 95
to the fables that -interested him, and he could easily
recollect the stories. Perhaps his early familiarity
with this book laid the foundation for that facility at
apt story-telling that distinguished him through life.
It is easy to see how such a volume might beget ano
foster a taste in this direction. Single volumes hav«2
moulded the reader's character and decided his destiny
more than once, and that, too, when far less absorbing
interest was manifested in the book. It is probable,
then, that ^Esop's Fables exerted a decided influence
upon Abraham's character and life. The fact that he
read the volume so much as to commit the larger part
of it to memory adds force to this opinion.
With two new books of such absorbing interest, it
was not strange that Abraham was disposed to neglect
his daily labor. His father could readily discover that
^sop had more attractions for him than ax or hoe.
Nor was he inclined to break the spell that bound him
until he actually feared that the books would make him
"lazy."
" Come, Abe, you mustn't neglect your work ; we've
lots to do, and books must not interfere," was his
father's gentle rebuke.
" In a minute," answered the boy, just like mosf
other boys of that age, who are " book-worms."
"That's what makes boys lazy, waiting to play or
read, when they ought to be at work," continued his
father. "All study and no work is 'most as bad as all
work and no study."
" Only a minute, and I'll go," added Abraham, so
absorbed in his book that he scarcely knew what answer:
he made.
g6 P/OJVEEX HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" It must be a short minute," retorted his father in
a tone of injured authority.
" I'll work hard enough to make it up when I get at
it," said Abraham, still delaying.
" I don't know about that. I'm afraid that your
thoughts will be somewhere else ; so put down the book
and come on."
With evident reluctance the young reader laid down
his book, preliminary to obeying orders.
"Good boys obey at once," continued his father;
"don't have to drive 'em like cattle."
" I only wanted to read a minute longer," answered
Abraham, by way of palliating his offence.
"And I only wanted you shouldn't," exclaimed his
father angrily. " I know what is best for you. I'm
willing you should read and write, but you must work
when work drives."
It was altogether new for Abraham to exhibit so much
disobedience as he did after he became enthusiastic
over The Pilgrim's Progress and ^Esop's Fables. Nor
was he conscious of possessing a disobedient spirit ;
for no such spirit was in his heart. He was simply
infatuated with the new books.
We must not conceal the fact that his father had
been somewhat annoyed by the boy's method of im
proving his penmanship by writing with chalk or a
charred stick upon almost any surface that came in
his way. But for his paternal pride over this ac-
quisition of his boy, he might have checked him in
this singular way of improvement. One incident oc-
curred that served to reconcile his father in the main
to his scrawls here and there, although he may have
BRIGHTER HOURS. 97
•
thought still that Abraham was carrying the matter
too far.
An acquaintance came into the field where father
and son were at work, when his eye was arrested by
letters cut in the mellow soil.
"What's that?" he inquired.
Abraham smiled, and let his father answer.
"What's what?"
"Why, this writing, — it looks as if somebody had
been writing on the ground."
"Abe's work, I s'pose."
"Abe didn't do that ! " answered the neighbor.
"I did do it with a stick," said the boy.
"What is it?" The man couldn't read.
"It's my name."
"Your name, hey? Likely story."
"Well, 'tis, whether you believe it or not;" and
he proceeded to spell it out, — " A-b-r-a-h-a-m
L-i-n-c-o-l-n."
" Sure enough, it is ; and you certainly did it, Abe?"
" Yes, sir ; and I will do it again, if you want to see
me;" and, without waiting for an answer, he caught
up a stick, and wrote his name again in the dirt.
"There 'tis," said Abraham.
"I see it, and it's well done," answered the neigh-
bor.
And there, on the soil of Indiana, Abraham Lincoln
wrote his name, with a stick, in large characters, — a
sort of prophetic act, that students of history may love
to ponder. For, since that day, he has written his
name, by public acts, on the annals of every State in
the Union.
98 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
From the time, however, that Abraham became ab-
sorbed in The Pilgrim's Progress and /Esop's Fables,
he was subject to the charge of being "lazy." The
charge gained force, too, as he grew older, and more
books and increasing thirst for knowledge controlled
him. Dennis Hanks said : " Abe was lazy, very lazy.
He was always reading, scribbling, ciphering, writing
poetry, and such like." John Romine declared that
" Abe was awful lazy. He worked for me ; was always
reading and thinking ; I used to get mad at him. He
worked for me pulling fodder. I say Abe was awful
lazy. He would laugh and talk, and crack jokes, and
tell stories all the time ; didn't love work, but did dearly
love his pay. He worked for me frequently, a few days
only at a time. He said to me one day, that his father
taught him to work, but never learned him to love it."
Mrs. Crawford, for whose husband Abraham worked,
and in whose cabin he read and told stories, said : " Abe
was no hand to pitch into work like killing snakes."
At the same time, Mr. Crawford could find no man to
suit him as well as Abraham, when the latter was but
fifteen years of age.
We protest, here and now, against this charge of
laziness which some biographers have made so promi-
nent. Nothing was ever more common than to charge
studious boys and girls with laziness. A great many
men and women, who know no better, bring the same
charge against professional gentlemen. Any person
who is not obliged to work on the farm, or at the forge,
or engage in some other manual labor, for a livelihood,
they pronounce lazy and aristocratic. Through sheer
ignorance, studying and literary aspirations are re-
BRIGHTER HOURS. 99
garded as proof of laziness. It was so in Abraham's
time. Because he possessed talents that craved knowl-
edge as the appetite craves food, leading him to snatch
fragments of time for reading, and perhaps to devote
hours to the bewitching pastime that ought to have
been given to hard work, careless, ignorant observ-
ers called him "lazy." It is a base slander. There
was not a lazy bone in him. The boy who will improve
such bits of time as he can save from his daily toil for
study, and sit up nights to read the Life of Washington,
or master a problem in mathematics, is not lazy. He
may love a book more than he loves chopping or thresh-
ing, just as another may love the latter more than he
does the former ; but he is not lazy. Laziness wastes
the spare hours of the day in bringing nothing to pass,
and gives the night to sleep instead of mental improve-
ment. As many of the busiest and most cheerful
workers in our country are its scholars, without a par-
ticle of the element of laziness in their composition, so
many of the most industrious and noble boys are those
who prefer a book to the plow, and would rather go to
school than to harvesting. That was true of Abraham
Lincoln. His heart was set on books ; but his hands
were so ready for hard work, that any farmer was glad to
hire him at the age of fourteen or fifteen years of age,
because he would do more work than any youth of his
age. He would chop more wood in a day, lift larger
logs, and "pull more fodder," boy as he was, than half
the men who hired him.
True, from the time that John Baldwin, the black-
smith, came into the neighborhood, when Abraham
was about ten years old, he would steal away to the
IOO PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
smithy's shop to listen to his stories. John was a grea*;
story-teller, and he was fond of children also, and these
were attractions enough for such a precocious boy.
His mind yearned for thoughts ; it was desperate for
entertainment ; and the blacksmith's stories, and inci-
dents of his life, supplied both thoughts and entertain-
ment. He spent much time with this jolly son of Vul-
can before he began to tell stories himself, and, after
that, he exchanged them with the smutty toiler at the
forge. But there was no evidence of laziness in those
visits to the blacksmith's shop. And when we place
this freak of a singularly bright boy, together with all
his other acts that denoted laziness to the ignorant
pioneers, beside the fact, that in manhood, to the day
of his death, Abraham Lincoln was one of the hardest
workers who ever lived, both at manual and intellectual
labor, ignoring all ten hour systems, and toiling fifteen,
sixteen, and even eighteen hours a day, to satisfy his
honorable ambition, the charge of laziness is branded as
slander on the part of those who make it. " The boy
is father to the man," — the lazy boy makes the lazy
man, and vice versa. If Abraham was a lazy boy, his
manhood completely belied his youth, and the old
maxim is exploded.
We have seen that they who called him lazy
coupled the charge with the statement that he was
always " reading and thinking," evidently considering
that his love of books was proof of a disposition to
shirk labor. Their ignorance is the explanation of,
and excuse for, their charge.
We have made this digression, at this point, in
order to direct the attention of the reader to an impor
BRIGHTER HOURS. IOJ
tant element of Lincoln's character, that will find
ample support in the sequel.
Now that we are speaking of Abraham's books, we
may record the facts about two other volumes, that
came into his hands within two years after ^Esop's
Fables. They were Ramsay's Life of Washington,
and Robinson Crusoe.
Dennis Hanks came home one day and said to
Abraham, —
" Don't you want to read the life of Washington ? "
" Of course I do," was his reply. " What do you
ask me that for ?"
"Because I've seen one."
" Where ? "
" Down at Anderson's Creek."
"Whom did it belong to?"
Dennis told him, adding, " He offered to lend it to
me."
- Then / can borrow it ? "
"Any time you are there; there's no doubt of it."
Without recording the details of this affair, it will
answer our purpose to say that Abraham embraced
the first opportunity to secure the loan of that valu-
able biography. He knew that Washington was
called the "father of his country" — that he was
commander-in-chief of the army in the American
Revolution. He had been told, also, of the part his
grandfather took in the " war of independence."
This was all he knew of the illustrious statesman
whose life he purposed to read ; but this was quite
enough to awaken his enthusiasm over the volume.
It was read and re-read with the deepest interest, and
102 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
its contents discussed with his father and Dennis, both
of whom learned more about Washington and his
times from Abraham than they ever knew before.
It is not known how he came into possession of
Robinson Crusoe. Doubtless the book was borrowed ;
and it proved a source of genuine satisfaction to
him. Once reading it only created the desire to read
it a second time, and even a third time. There was a
kind of witchery about the book to his active mind,
different from that exerted over him even by The Pil-
grim's Progress. He could scarcely command language
to express his admiration of the volume.
CHAPTER VIII.
A NEW MOTHER AND SCHOOLS.
|R. LINCOLN remained a widower until
December, 1819. During this time his
only housekeeper was his daughter Sarah.
Abraham was a " handy boy " about the
cabin, and often rendered timely aid to his sister in
her daily work. He became so expert in household
matters, that, a few years later, when he " worked
out " among the farmers, their wives pronounced him
the "best hand" because he was so "handy," and was
willing to make fires, bring wood and water, or tend
the baby. It was evidently a good school for him,
since his manhood was characterized by being " handy
about the house." A dweller in Springfield, Illinois,
where Abraham commenced his public life, in 1837
remembers how he " used to draw the baby back and
forth in front of his house, early in the summer morn-
ing, while his wife was getting breakfast, at the same
time reading a book that he held in one hand."
But Thomas Lincoln needed a wife, and his son
needed a mother. Household affairs had been left
"at loose ends," as they are likely to be where there
is no mother to superintend. There was not that
104 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
neatness and order necessary to make even a cabin
home attractive ; and what clothes the children had
were in a very dilapidated condition. It was both
wise and necessary for Lincoln to go in search of a
wife.
He remembered Sally Bush, of Elizabethtown,
Kentucky, to whom he once proposed, but who pre-
ferred another, one Johnson by name. She married
the latter instead of Lincoln. Her husband died three
years before Mrs. Lincoln did, and Thomas Lincoln
knew that she was a widow. Where would he be so
much inclined to go as there for a good wife ? Where
could he go with more hope of success ?
Lincoln posted away to Kentucky, found Widow
Johnson, proposed, and was accepted. On the fol-
lowing day they were married. Mrs. Johnson pos-
sessed a good supply of furniture for that day, so
much as to require a four-horse team to remove it to
Indiana. She owned a bureau that cost forty dollars,
a clothes-chest, table and six chairs, together with a quan-
tity of bedding, crockery, tin-ware and iron-ware. Ralph
Browne, Mr. Lincoln's cousin, removed both goods
and bride, with her three children — John, Sarah and
Matilda — to Indiana. With this rather large acces-
sion for one match, Thomas Lincoln numbered eight
souls in his household — all to dwell in a cabin with a
single room and loft. Still, it was, on the whole, as
the sequel will show, the best bargain that Thomas
Lincoln ever made.
Abraham was filled with wonder on the arrival of
his new mother and her goods. Such a quantity of
" household stuff " his eyes never beheld before ; and
A NEW MOTHER AND SCHOOLS. 105
he could scarcely believe that his home would boast,
henceforth, a "bureau, clothes-chest and real chairs."
His stepmother, too, won his heart at once. He
thought she was just the woman to own such a
bureau — the latter was a fitting accompaniment to
the former.
The second Mrs. Lincoln was better educated than
the first. She could not only read and write, but she
was reared in girlhood under more favorable circum-
stances than Nancy Hanks. In her teens she was
rather the belle of the town, or, at least, she was one
of them. One person said, " she was the best and
proudest of the Bushes." She dressed better, was
more tidy and brighter than most of the girls around
her. The girl was mother to the woman, so that
Thomas Lincoln found he had a wife in her who was
ambitious for personal appearance and comfort. One
of the first things she set her husband about, after
settling in Indiana, was to make a floor to the cabin.
Then she posted him away to the only place where he
could buy window-sashes and doors, twenty or thirty
miles distant, for these indispensable articles. When
the Lincoln cabin had a floor, a real door and real
windows, and was furnished with a veritable bed,
bureau, chairs, crockery, etc., it presented quite a
respectable appearance. It was certainly a much
neater, more orderly and attractive abode than it ever
was before. The change which Mrs. Lincoln wrought
in the habitation, in a very short time, was indicative
of a smart, enterprising woman, possessing much ex-
ecutive ability.
It was a glorious day for Abraham when a faithful
106 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
and intelligent stepmother was installed over his dreary
home. Her advent brought such cheerfulness to him
as he had not known since his own mother was laid in
her grave. He gave her a hearty welcome, and a large
place in his heart. Her son and daughters, too, he
received as a true brother. They were better clad than
himself and more tidy; but soon, under his good step-
mother's care, he was made as neat and prim as they.
The two families of children became as one family soon,
and no discord ever rose among them. Abraham
became strongly attached to the two Johnson girls,
who were bright and social ; and they came to regard
him, not only as a brother, but also as a prodigy. Their
coming lifted Abraham into a higher plane of social life.
Dennis Hanks, who was a member of the family at
the time, says, "Ina few weeks all had changed ; and
where everything was wanting, now all was snug and
comfortable. She was a woman of great energy, of
remarkable good sense, very industrious and saving,
and also very neat and tidy in her habits, and knew
exactly how to manage children. She took an especial
liking to young Abe. Her love for him was warmly
returned, and continued to the day of his death. But
few children loved their parents as he loved his step-
mother. He was encouraged by her to study, and any
wish on his part was gratified when it could be done.
The two sets of children got along finely together as
if they had been children of the same parents. Mrs.
Lincoln soon discovered that Abraham was a boy of
uncommon natural talents, and that, if rightly trained,
a bright future was before him, and she did all in het
power to develop those talents."
A NEW MOTHER AND SCHOOLS. 107
We may add, here, once fof all, that Dennis Hanks
subsequently married one of the Johnson girls, and
Allen Hall, another cousin of Abraham, the other. A
granddaughter of Dennis Hanks, Mrs. H. A. Chap-
man, says of Mrs. Lincoln, " My grandmother was a
very tall woman, straight as an arrow, fair complexion,
and was, as I first remember her, very handsome,
sprightly, talkative, and proud ; wore her hair curled
till gray; was kind-hearted, and very charitable, and
also very industrious."
A new mother was not the only boon that Abraham
received in that winter of 1819-20. For the first time
in Indiana a school opened for him.
" I hear that a man by the name of Dorsey is going
to keep school," said Mr. Lincoln to his son; "and
you can go, and the other children too." He learned
the news of a neighbor whom he met on that day.
" Who is Dorsey ? " inquired Abraham.
"I don't know, only he is a man who is going to
keep school down by Little Pigeon Creek; and he's
good in reading, writing, and ciphering.,,
"A good chance for you, Abe," remarked his step-
mother, whom we shall know hereafter only as mother.
"You want to know something about arithmetic as soon
as you can ; the sooner the better."
"Where shall I get an arithmetic to study?"
" As to that, I can find one somewhere," replied his
father. "I shall go to market before the week is out,
and I will see what I can find among the settlers there
on the way. You must study arithmetic somehow."
" A good day for you, Abe, when you learn to
cipher," added his mother. " Even a poor chance to
108 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
learn that is better than none. Two miles will be
just far enough for you to walk to keep your legs
limber."
Settlers had come into that region rapidly, and had
put up a log-house, two miles from Lincoln's, to serve
as a schoolhouse whenever an occasion might arise. It
was a poor affair. Dorsey could just stand up under
the roof, and he was no taller than Abraham. It had
"holes for windows," in which greased paper was used
instead of glass. A large fire-place, that would admit
logs four feet in length, was the only cheerful object
within ; and the boys appeared to think so ; for they
piled on the fuel by the half cord, and made the biggest
blaze possible.
To this pioneer school Abraham went with a glad
heart. His father found an old arithmetic somewhere,
in a damaged condition, and he bought it for him. His
mother made him a new suit of clothes, for his old suit
was much the worse for wear. It was not made of
broadcloth or cassimere ; but of such material as could
be obtained. It consisted of a linsey-woolsey shirt,
buckskin breeches, low shoes made of leather tanned
in the family, and a cap of coon-skin. Overcoats
were unknown.
Here Abraham became particularly interested in
arithmetic and " spelling for places." In reading and
writing, he was fully equal to his teacher, and, also in
spelling. But he never spelled in classes before for
places, an exercise which the boys christened with the
name, "trapping up and down." Abraham always
"trapped up," so his contestants said. He never
missed a word, and was always found at the head of his
A NEW MOTHER AND SCHOOLS. log
class, except when he took his place at the foot, accord-
ing to the custom, to "trap up" again.
This school continued but a few weeks ; and, as
Abraham never had but two more opportunities to
attend school, we shall devote the remainder of this
chapter to the details of his experience.
Four years later — in 1823 — one Andrew Craw-
ford, who lived in Spencer County, opened a school in
the same log-house in which Dorsey taught. He was
much better educated than any of Abraham's previous
teachers. He was first-class for that day and place.
He was a master, too, with whom boys could not
trifle. He was " great on thrashing" one boy said.
Abraham attended this school, and became more
enthusiastic than ever over his studies. He had
found a more congenial teacher; and Crawford ap-
peared to understand him thoroughly, and to know
how to lead him. Teacher and pupil were never on'
better terms than were Crawford and Abraham.
Crawford saw in the lad the foreshadowing of a great
man. He had no doubt of it, and he did not hesitate
to express his admiration of the boy. He said to Mr.
Lincoln one day :
" Abe is a wonderful boy — the best scholar I ever
had. He's never satisfied without knowing all about
his lessons. He wants to know every thing that
anybody else knows, and he don't see why he
can't."
"That's Abe exactly," responded Mr. Lincoln.
"He cares more for a book than anything else. I
sometimes wish he liked work as much as he does a
book."
HO PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" He couldn't like both equally well," continued
Crawford; " that's impossible. If he liked work with
all his soul, he would not be so great a scholar- — he
could not be such a scholar."
"May be ; but work is more necessary to backwoods
life than books," said Mr. Lincoln, who failed to look
into the future as Mr. Crawford did. " Pioneers ought
to know more than I do, but they needn't know every
thing."
" But Abe will not live in the backwoods all his
days. Even if he should continue to live in Spencer
County, he will not be a backwoodsman long. As
immigration is going on now, by the time he is thirty
years old he will be out of pioneer life. But such a
boy will rise above such a life. His ability and perse-
verance will overcome obstacles, and he will make his
mark. Abe is as good, too, as he is bright."
" Yes ; Abe's a good boy," responded his father.
" We can't expect boys will do right always, you know ;
but Abe's good to mind. His mother thinks there
never was such a boy." And this last testimony was
a confirmation of what we have said of his filial love
and obedience.
" I was struck with his honesty the other day,"
added Mr. Crawford. " I saw that a buck's horn that
was nailed on the schoolhouse was broken off, and I
concluded that some of the boys did it. So I asked
them the next day, when they had all got still, which
of them broke it, and Abe answered promptly, 'I
did it.'"
"Just like him," said his father.
" ' I said, how happened that, Abe ? ' '
A NEW MOTHER AND SCHOOLS. Ill
" I didn't mean to do it," he replied. " I hung on
it, and it broke. I wouldn't have done it if I had
thought it would break."
" I dare say he spoke the truth," said his father.
" I have no doubt of it ; but few boys would own
up like that. Most boys would try to conceal what
they had done, and wouldn't own it till they were
obliged to."
" That's so ; and I've thought that it might be owing
a little to the Life of Washington that he read some
time ago. He seemed to think a sight of his owning
up that he cut the cherry tree with his new hatchet ;
and he spoke of it ever so many times."
"Well, this was certainly like that," said Mr. Craw-
ford ; " and I took occasion to say that it was a noble
trait to confess a wrong that was done, instead of try-
ing to conceal it."
"He never was disposed to conceal his wrong-
doings. He takes all the blame to himself, and don't
try to put it on to anybody else."
" I should think so ; and such truthfulness is worthy
of all praise," said Mr. Crawford.
Nat Grigsby attended Crawford's school, and he
says : " Essays and poetry were not taught in this
school, but Abe took them up on his own account. He
first wrote short sentences on 'cruelty to animals,' and
finally came out with a regular composition on the
subject. He was very much annoyed and pained by
the conduct of the boys, who were in the habit of
catching terrapins and putting coals of fire on their
backs. He would chide us, tell us it was wrong, and
would write against it."
112 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
This statement shows that Abraham's teacher en-
couraged him in just those exercises that contributed
to his rapid mental growth. Evidently he understood
the boy, as we have said, and gave him an impulse,
onward and upward, that he never ceased to feel.
Here he first attempted the role of poet, as well as
essayist ; and, also, played the part of orator. He pos-
sessed a remarkable memory, and could repeat long
paragraphs from the books he had read and the ser-
mons he had heard. He was wont to recite these for
the amusement of his companions ; and, one day, he
was displaying his oratorical powers upon a stump,
when one of the boys threw a terrapin against a tree
near the speaker, crushing the poor animal so cruelly
that he writhed upon the ground, exciting the tender
sympathies of Abraham, and causing him to strike out
upon an oration or sermon (whatever we may call it)
against cruelty to animals, denouncing the act as in-
human, and holding up the boy who did it to scorn
until he writhed under the scorching rebuke well nigh
as much as the terrapin did through his thoughtless
act.
At another time he became the counsel for a ter-
rapin on whose back the boys were putting coals of
fire.
" Don't," exclaimed Abraham, as if he felt the burn-
ing coals upon his own back.
" Don't what ? " responded a boy, at the same time
giving the terrapin a punch with a stick.
"Don't be so cruel," continued Abraham; "how
would you like to have coals put on your own back ? "
"Try it, and see," shouted one.
A NEW MOTHER AND SCHOOLS. 1 13
"Well, it is cruel to treat him so — and mean, too,"
persisted Abraham.
"Why, Abe, it's nothin' but a terrapin," interjected
a boy.
"Don't terrapins have feelings ? " responded our hero.
"I don't know whether they do or not," replied the
first named boy, at the same time adding another coal
of fire to the animal's back.
" You shan't do it, Nat, unless you are stronger than
I am," exclaimed Abraham, knocking the last coal from
the animal's back, and pushing the boy with the stick
aside.
"You're a chicken-hearted feller, Abe, as ever lived,"
continued Nat. " I should think the terrapin was your
brother."
"Whether he is or not, you won't burn him any more
while I'm 'round."
"That's it," said Dave Turnham, who stood looking
on. "I go in for Abe. He wouldn't hurt a fly."
" He would if he trod on it," retorted Nat, aiming to
be funny.
Mr. Crawford had witnessed a part of this scene,
and he came out at this stage of the affair, and re-
buked the cruelty.of the boys who were torturing the
terrapin, while he commended Abraham for his ten-
derness.
" We are coming to the Rule of Three now," said
Mr. Crawford to Abraham, " and that will be all you
can learn of me."
"Is it hard ? " asked the boy.
" It won't be for you. I think you can get through
it by the time your father wants you this spring."
114 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
"Why is it called the Rule of Three?"
"I hardly know. Some call it Simple Proportion,
and that is the true name for it. You will see a reason
for it, too, when you come to master it."
"What if I don't master it ? "
"I '11 risk you on that. It won't be of so much use
to you as what you have been over already. Some
people don't study it."
" My father never studied arithmetic," said Abraham.
" Nor mine. Not half the folks about here have
studied it."
" Father never had a chance to study it when he was
a boy."
" That's the case with a good many."
" Well, I can cipher now in Addition, Subtraction,
Multiplication, and Division."
"Yes, you understand these rules well, and you will
alv/ays find use for them."
Encouraged by his instructor, Abraham grappled
with the so-called "Rule of Three." It was some-
what more difficult for him to comprehend this rule
than it was the previous ones ; yet he was not discour-
aged. His discriminating mind and patient labor did
the work for him, and he enjoyed the happiness of un-
derstanding Proportion by the time his school-days
were over. We do not mean that he comprehended it
fully, so as to be complete master of it, but he under-
stood it, as we are wont to say that pupils understand
the rules they have been over at school. At least, he
made such progress that he was prepared to become
master of all the rules he had studied, by devoting his
leisure moments to them thereafter.
A NEW MOTHER AND SCHOOLS. t.UJ
We must stop here to relate another incident of
those school-days, because it illustrates a trait of char-
acter for which Abraham was well known in his youth.
We often find the key to a boy's character by observing
his intercourse with companions at school.
It was near the end of his term of school at Craw-
ford's. Several boys were on their way home at the
close of school in company with Abraham, when a
difficulty arose between two of them about spelling a
word.
"You didn't spell it right," said John.
"Yes, I did spell it right," replied Daniel. "I spelt
it just as Mr. Crawford did."
"He said you didn't spell it so."
"I know he said so, but he didn't understand me. I
spelt it just as he did."
"I know you didn't," continued John.
"And I know I did," retorted Daniel. "You are a
liar, if you say so."
" Don't call me a liar ! " exclaimed John, doubling up
his fist. "You'll get it, if you say that again !"
"I stump you to do it, old madpiece ! " said Daniel,
putting himself in an attitude of defiance.
"Come, Dan, don't," said Abraham, throwing one of
his arms over his neck.
" Let him come, if he wants to," said John, in a great
rage ; "I'll give it to him : he's a great coward."
"What's the use, John?" interrupted Abraham,
throwing his other arm around John's shoulders, so
as to bring himself between the two wrathy boys ;
"that ain't worth fighting about."
"Yes, it is, too," answered John. "You wouldn't
Il6 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
be called a liar by anybody I know, and I won't
neither." Abraham was now walking along between
the two .boys, with his arms over their shoulders.
"Yes, I would, too; and I shouldn't care neither, if
it wasn't true."
" Nobody would think of calling you a liar," added
John.
"They wouldn't call you so, if you didn't care any-
thing about it," answered Abraham ; and there was
much truth in the remark.
By this time the two combatants had cooled off con-
siderably, and Daniel put out the last spark of fire by
adding, "I'll take it back, John."
"That's a good fellow," said Abraham, while John
was mute. Five minutes thereafter the two vexed
boys were on good terms, their difficulties having been
adjusted by Abraham, "the peace-maker," as he was
often called. He could not endure to see broils among
his companions, and he often taxed all his kind feelings
and ingenuity to settle them. This trait of character
was prominent through all his life. Last, though not
least, we had an exhibition of it, when, at the outbreak
of the Rebellion in 1861, he put his arms around the
neck of both North and South, and attempted to recon-
cile them. But his effort proved less successful than
it did in the case of John and Daniel ; for the southern
combatant was fully determined to fight.
Abraham was by far the best speller in Crawford's
school. It was not expected by teacher or pupils that
he would miss a word. More than that he sometimes
taxed his ingenuity to help others out of difficulty in
their spelling classes. One day a class was spelling,
A NEW MOTHER AND SCHOOLS. 117
and Crawford put out the word defied. The girl to
whom the word was given spelled it de-f-i-de. The
next one, d-e-f-y-d ; the third, d-e-f-y-d-e ; the fourth,
d-e-f-y-e-d ; and soon, not one spelling the word cor-
rectly, Crawford became angry.
"What ! " he bawled out, " these big boys and girls
not able to spell the simple word defied! There
shan't one of you go home to-night if you don't spell
it, you lazy, ignorant louts."
Just then, a girl in the class by the name of Roby,
to whom Abraham was somewhat partial, looked up,
and took a valuable hint from his smiling face. To
use her own language, as she described the scene many
years thereafter : —
" I saw Abe at the window ; he had his finger in his
eye, and a smile on his face. I immediately took the
hint, that I must change the letter y into an i. Hence
I spelled the word, — the class was let out. I felt
grateful to Abe for this simple thing."
Notwithstanding Crawford's was a " pioneer college,"
he taught "manners." He rather prided himself on
teaching his pupils etiquette, at least, as far as he
knew. Imparting to his scholars some idea about
cultivated society in thoroughly civilized places, he
converted his school-room into a parlor of " ladies and
gentlemen." One pupil was required to go out, then
re-enter in the role of a gentleman or lady stranger,
whom another pupil introduced to every one in the
room. Imagine Abraham, almost six feet high, though
but fifteen years of age, homely as he could well be,
clumsy and gawky in his appearance, clad in pioneer
style, with legs and arms out of all proportion to his
II 8 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
head and body, going through this ordeal of refine-
ment ! Nat. Grigsby describes Abraham, at that time,
thus : "He was long, wiry and strong ; while his big
feet and hands, and the length of his legs and arms,
were out of all proportion to his small trunk and head.
His complexion was very swarthy, and his skin was
shrivelled and yellow even then. He wore low shoes,
buckskin breeches, linsey-woolsey shirt, and a cap
made of the skin of an opossum or coon. The breeches
clung close to his thighs and legs, but failed by a large
space to reach the tops of his shoes. Twelve inches
remained uncovered, and exposed that much of shin
bone, sharp, blue, and narrow." It must have been a
comical sight, when this overgrown and awkward boy
was required to play the gentleman, and was put
through a course of "manners" indispensable to pio-
neers, as Crawford thought. It did him good, however,
as we judge from the words of Mrs. Josiah Crawford,
for whose husband Abraham subsequently worked,
She said, " Abe was polite ; lifted his hat on meeting
strangers ; and always removed it from his head on
coming into the house."
Three years after Abraham attended Crawford's
school, he attended another, nearly five miles distant,
taught by one Swaney. He continued but a short
time at this school, since the great distance consumed
too much of his time. But John Hoskins, who was a
fellow-pupil, declares that " Abe took the lead, and was
big in spellin'," when "we would choose up, and
spell every Friday night."
Here, Abraham's school-days ended ; and all his
schooling amounted to less than one year. Neverthe-
A NEW MOTHER AND SCHOOLS. 119
less, according to David Turnham, he completely
drained his teachers. We have his word for it, that
" Abe beat all his masters, and it was no use for him
to try to learn any more from them."
We may add, in closing this chapter, that about this
time, Levi Hall, a relative of the Lincolns, removed from
Kentucky with his family, and settled near them.
Also John Hanks, cousin of the first Mrs. Lincoln, and
son of Joseph Hanks of Elizabethtown, of whom Tom
Lincoln learned the carpenter's trade, came to live with
the latter. John had no education ; could neither read
nor write ; but he was a temperate, upright, truthful
man, without a particle of Abraham's wit, and none of
his extreme awkwardness. He lived four years with
Mr. Lincoln ; then returned to Kentucky ; whence he
removed to Illinois, where we shall meet him again.
CHAPTER IX.
BORROWING, AND WHAT CAME OF IT.
HE greatest man that ever lived ! " said
Abraham, as he sat upon a log in the
woods, conversing with David Turnham.
" This country has a right to be proud of
Washington."
" That is your opinion ; but I guess the British
won't say so," answered David.
"And that is just because they were whipped by
him ; and they don't want to own up."
" How do you know so much about Washington,
Abe?"
" Because I have read about him, and I always
heard that he made the red-coats run for life."
" Who do you mean by the red-coats ? "
" Why, the British, to be sure. They were called
'red-coats,' because they wore coats of that color. I
expect that they looked splendidly, though they did n't
feel very splendidly, I guess, after they got whipped."
" Have you read the Life of Washington?"
" Of course I have, a good while ago. I read Ram-
say's Life of Washington, and that shows that he was
the greatest man who ever lived."
BORROWING, AND WHAT CAME OF IT. 121
" Is that like the one Josiah Crawford has ?"
" I did n't know that Mr. Crawford had a Life of
Washington."
" Well, he has ; for I heard him talking with father
about it."
" How long ago ? "
'• Not more than two or three weeks ago."
•' You don't know the name of the author ? There
are lives of Washington written by different men."
" I don't remember who wrote this. I did n't mind
much about what they were saying."
" I can find out," added Abraham ; and he did
find out. He embraced the first opportunity to in-
quire of a neighbor, and learned that it was Weems's
Life of Washington that Mr. Crawford owned.
" Can I borrow it ? " he inquired of his parents, for
he was very anxious to read it.
" Perhaps he won't like to lend it," answered his
mother.
" I shall find that out when I ask him," said Abra-
ham.
" And you should tell him that you will not take it
unless he is perfectly willing to let you have it."
" Then I may ask him, may I ? "
" If you are very desirous to read it."
" Well, I am, and I will go there to-night when I
get through work."
Abraham was elated with the idea of getting hold of
this new work. He viewed the character of Wash-
ington with admiration, and he would know what
different biographers said of him. He was not a little
impatient for his day's work to be done. He toiled as
122 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
usual, however, with a good degree of interest in his
work, until night, when he prepared himself to call on
Mr. Crawford.
The family gave him a cordial welcome, and Mrs.
Crawford said : " I wonder what has brought you out
to-night. I have n't seen you here for a long time."
" Perhaps you won't be so glad to see me after you
learn what I came for," replied Abraham.
" And what did you come for, that makes you think
so?" asked Mr. Crawford.
" I came to borrow a book."
" A book, hey! That is a good errand, I am sure."
" But I did not know as you would be willing to
lend it."
" What book is it ? " asked Mr. Crawford. " I have
no doubt that I can accommodate you."
" It is the Life of Washington. I was told that you
had it, and I want to read it."
"I wish all the boys wanted to read it," said Mr.
Crawford. " I will lend it to you, Abe, with great
pleasure. I am glad to see that you like to read."
"I will not take it unless you are perfectly willing
to lend it," said Abraham.
" If I did not want you should have it, I should tell
you so. I am not one of those persons who are afraid
to tell what they think. I am glad that I have the
book to lend you."
" I will take good care of it, and return it to you
all safe," responded Abraham. This was just like him.
So considerate a boy would not ask the loan of a book
without some diffidence, and when it was borrowed, he
would feel that great care must be used to preserve it.
BORROWING, AND WHAT CAME OF IT. 123
He valued the few books which he himself possessed
so highly as to lead him to think that other people
held their volumes in equal estimation. It was really
an excellent trait of character that caused him to use
so much discretion in borrowing books, for the bor-
rowing of this single article has been the occasion of
much trouble in neighborhoods. In consequence of
thoughtlessness and less regard for the interests of
others than their own, many persons have borrowed
books and never returned them, or else returned them
in a much worse condition than when they were re-
ceived. Frequently books are lost in this way from
Sabbath-school and other libraries. Borrowers do
not return them. They think so little of their obli-
gations, that the books are forgotten and lost. Book-
borrowers are very apt to be negligent, so that when
we see a lad so particular as Abraham was, it is worth
while to take note of the fact.
" It will take me some time to read so large a
work/' said he, as he took it from Mr. Crawford.
" Perhaps you will want it before I get through with
it."
" Oh, no ; you are such a great reader that you will
finish it in short metre. Keep it as long as you want
it, and I shall be suited."
" I thank you," Abraham replied, as he arose to
leave. " Good night."
" Good night," several voices responded.
It was a very joyful evening to Abraham as he
bore that Life of Washington home, and sat down
about the middle of the evening to read the first chap-
ter therein.
124 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" Keep it nice," said his mother. " Remember that
it is a borrowed book."
"I will try" he replied. "Mr. Crawford was per-
fectly willing to lend it, and I shall be none the less
careful on that account."
Those were pleasant hours of leisure that he de-
voted to reading Weems's Life of Washington. Every
evening, after his day's labor was completed, he read
the work with absorbing interest, and at other times,
when he could find a spare moment, it was in his hand.
He had nearly completed it, when the following
mishap caused him many unpleasant thoughts and
feelings.
A driving storm was raging, so that he could per-
form little labor except what could be done under
cover. Of course his book was in his hand much of
the time, and the whole of the dreary evening, to a
late hour, was his companion. On going to bed, he
laid it down directly under a large crack between the
logs, and the wind changing in the night, the rain was
driven into the house, and the book was wet through.
The first sight that met Abraham's eyes in the
morning was the drenched book, and his feelings can
be better imagined than described.
" O dear ! " he exclaimed. " That book is spoiled ! "
And he could scarcely restrain the tears that welled
up to his eyes.
" How did you happen to lay it there ? " asked his
mother.
" I never thought about its raining in there. But
only look at it ! it is completely soaked ! " and he lifted
it up carefully to show his mother.
BORROWING, AND WHAT CAME OF IT. 125
" Oh, I am so sorry ! it is ruined ! " she said.
" I can dry it," answered Abraham, " but that will
not leave it decent. See ! the cover will drop off, and
there is no help for it. What will Mr. Crawford say ?
I told him that I would keep it very carefully, and re-
turn it to him uninjured."
"Well, it is done, and can't be helped now," added
his mother ; " and I have no doubt that you can fix it
with Mr. Crawford."
" I have no money to pay him for it, and I don't see
how I can make it good to him. He ought to be paid
for it."
" Of course he had, and he may want you to do
some work for him, which will be the same as money
to him. You'd better take the book to him to-day
and see what you can do."
" I am almost ashamed to go. He will think that I
am a careless fellow."
" Never be ashamed to do right, my son."
" I am not ashamed to do right. I was only say-
ing how I felt. I told him that I would keep it
nicely."
"And so you meant to; but accidents will happen
sometimes, even if we are careful."
"He shall be paid for it somehow," continued Abra
ham. " I will see him today."
The volume was exposed to the heat of the fire that
day, and when Abraham was ready to go to Mr. Craw-
ford's in the evening, it was dry enough for transpor-
tation. The storm had passed away, and the stars were
looking down from the skies, as he took the book,
carefully wrapped in a cotton handkerchief, and pro-
126 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
ceeded to Mr. Crawford's. His heart was heavy and
sad, and he dreaded to open the subject to him.
" Good evening, Abe ! Got through with the book
so quick ? " said Mr. Crawford.
" Good evening," responded Abraham, in his usual
manly way. " I have brought the book back, although
I have not finished it."
" Keep it, then, keep it," replied Mr. Crawford,
before the lad could tell his story. " I told you to keep
it as long as you wanted it."
" Perhaps you won't want I should keep it when you
hear what has happened to it." And he proceeded to
untie the handkerchief in which it was wrapped.
" There," continued Abraham, exhibiting the book;
" it is ruined. I laid it down last night where the rain
beat in and wet it through, and it is spoiled. I'm very
sorry indeed, and want to pay you for it in some way."
Josiah Crawford was a hard man by nature, and an
excess of whiskey made him harder. He was not a
relative of Andrew Crawford, the teacher, although he
was like him in one particular — he had an ungovern-
able temper. At sight of the ruined volume his
countenance changed, and he snapped out in his wrath :
" Carelessness ! Pretty mess for a borrowed book."
Had he not been a good friend of Abraham, there is
no telling what abuse he might have heaped upon the
boy. As it was, with all his regard for Abraham as an
uncommon youth, he poured out large vials of wrath
upon him, the boy all the while declaring that he was
willing to pay for it.
" I've ruined the book, and I'll do any work you say
to pay for it. Have you any work I can do ?"
BORROWING, AND WHAT CAME OF IT. 12;
Crawford's wrath abated somewhat when he heard
the word work. The idea of getting work out of the
lad was tempting to him ; for he was an unscrupulous,
avaricious, stingy man; and now was his time to take
advantage of Abraham's generosity.
" Yes, work enough," he growled, angry as a panther
that prowled about the forest at night.
"How much was the book worth ?" asked Abraham.
"Mor'n I'll ever get," Crawford growled again.
"I'll work to pay its full value, and keep it for my
own, if you say so," continued Abraham.
After further parleying, Crawford, seeing his oppor-
tunity to make something out of Abraham, cooled
down to ordinary heat, and proceeded to say :
"I tell you what it is, Abe, I'm in great trouble about
my corn. You see the whole of my corn has been
stripped of the blades as high as the ear, and is now
ready to have the tops cut off for winter fodder; but
my hands are full of other work, and how it is to be
done is more than I can tell. Now, if you can help me
out of this scrape, we can square the account about the
book."
" I'll do it," replied Abraham, with emphasis. " How
much of it shall I cut?"
"All of it, of course," answered Crawford, un-
pleasantly; "you can't expect to get such a book for
nothing."
Abraham was taken somewhat by surprise by this
exorbitant demand ; nevertheless, he was equal to the
occasion, and promptly responded :
" Well, then, I'll cut the whole of it ; when shall I
begin?"
128 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" To-morrow morning ; " and the exacting manner in
which he thus proceeded awakened Abraham's con-
tempt for him. Still he answered :
" To-morrow morning it is, then ; I'll be on hand as
early as you want to see me."
Abraham hastened home and reported. His parents
united with him in the opinion that it was one of Craw-
ford's acts of extortion. Still, they were glad that their
son could settle the affair in some way.
Abraham undertook to redeem his pledge on the next
day, and, bright and early, he was in Crawford's corn-
field. There were several acres of the corn, and several
days of very hard work would be required to finish the
job. Abraham bent himself to the task with more than
usual determination, and completed it in about three
days, although ordinarily, a man would have needed
nearly five days in which to perform the work.
Abraham never forgot the extortion which Crawford
practised upon him, and he always despised his. over-
reaching propensity. Still, he was glad to own another
volume, especially one of so much value as Weems's
Life of Washington. That Crawford forgot his own
meanness, is quite evident from the fact, that, sub-
sequently, he sought Abraham's services, and those of
his sister to assist his wife. Both Abraham and Sarah
were glad of the opportunity to earn an honest dollar,
and accepted his proposition. They lived with Craw-
ford several months during that year, and pleased the
crabbed old fellow mightily. Abraham finished his log-
house by " daubing it," that is, filling the interstices
between the unhewn logs with clay, especially the loft
in which he lodged.
BORROWING, AND WHAT CAME OF IT. 1 29
He split many rails for Crawford during that season,
planted, sowed and harvested, receiving only twenty-
five cents a day. If he lost only a few minutes from
hard work, as he would on some days, his employer
deducted it from his small wages, thereby exposing his
contemptible spirit, though Abraham never protested.
Abraham might not have remained at Crawford's
during the whole season, but for the presence of his
sister there, and his high respect for Mrs. Crawford,
who was an excellent woman ; " nothing that her hus-
band was, and everything that he was not."
He found several books there which he had never
seen before ; and these he read over and over at night.
One of them was the Kentucky Preceptor, which he
pored over with unusual interest, because it contained
dialogues and declamations. Many of these he com-
mitted to memory ; indeed, when his time was up at
Crawford's, he had no need to carry away the books,
for the contents of them were in his head. Although
his employer paid him little more than half of what the
boy ought to have had, it proved to be a good place for
him on account of the books that he used for his own
personal improvement.
Josiah Crawford was as homely as he was ill-tempered.
The lids of his eyes were red as a lobster's claw, and his
nose was considerably longer than it should have been
for symmetry and beauty ; and what was worse yet, a
bad habit had pimpled and reddened the end of it as if
purposely to make him ugly-looking. Abraham cele-
brated the characteristics of Crawford's nose in verse,
sometime after he ceased laboring for him, perhaps the
following winter. Afterwards when he was indulging
130 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
his gift for " Chronicles," he embalmed the memory of
it in that style of composition. These literary efforts
spread both the fame of Crawford's nose and the talents
of the writer. How widely the subject-matter of his
"verse" and "chronicles" were discussed and enjoyed,
is learned from the fact that one of his biographers
says, that the fame of Crawford's nose spread " as wide
as to the Wabash and the Ohio." We cite the incident
only to show that Abraham wielded a facile pen at that
early day, and that the people regarded him as a mar-
vellous boy.
Mrs. Josiah Crawford records a curious incident con-
cerning Abraham. During the season he worked for
her husband, he frequently lingered after dinner to
have a frolic with the girls in the kitchen. One day
he became unusually boisterous, when Mrs. Crawford
reproved him for "fooling," and asked, " What do you
think will ever become of you?" Abraham replied
promptly, " be President of the United States." Nor was
this the only occasion of his making a similar remark.
He often used it in his boyhood and youth. As his
miserable surroundings absolutely precluded any such
idea, and he was wont to joke about his homeliness,
poverty and future promise, some of his friends suppose
that he made the remark in a vein of pleasantry. But
whether so or not, the fact is worthy of record.
Long before this time, Mr. Lincoln had discontinued
the use of his domestic grist-mill, for Hoffman built a
mill to run by water, on Anderson's Creek, twelve
miles away. To this mill Abraham and David Turn-
ham carried their grists, until Gordon built a horse-
mill within a few miles of Lincoln's cabin. Then their
BORROWING, AND WHAT CAME OF IT. 13 1
patronage was transferred to Gordon's. To the latter
place Abraham carried a grist one day, and safely tied
the " old mare" while waiting for the grinding. When
the time came to start for home, he untied the mare,
jumped on, and started the animal so suddenly with a
" cluck," and stroke of a stick, that she kicked furiously,
and knocked him head over heels, from the cart to the
ground. He was picked up in a state of insensibility,
the bystanders fearing that life was extinct. For sev-
eral minutes he remained insensible, and when con-
sciousness returned, he finished the "cluck," that was
only half uttered when the ugly beast knocked him
over. Many years afterward, he had discussions with
his law partner at Springfield, 111., Mr. Herndon, as to
the psychological explanation of this remarkable phe-
nomenon. One person remarked that it "was an
illustration of Abe's perseverance — he always accom-
plished what he undertook."
The next chapter will disclose the manner in which
Abraham worked and studied, growing in knowledge
and popularity daily
CHAPTER X.
WORKING AND WINNING.
|HE reader should understand the society
in which Abraham mixed, in order to ap-
preciate fully the elements of character
which enabled him to work and win from
fifteen to eighteen years of age. Mrs. Crawford, whom
we have already quoted, in a letter to Mr. Herndon,
furnishes rather a vivid picture of the social state at
that time. She says : —
" You wish me to tell you how the people used to
go to meeting, — how far they went. At that time we
thought it nothing to go eight or ten miles. The old
ladies did not stop for the want of a shawl, or cloak, or
riding-dress, or two horses, in the winter time ; but
they would put on their husband's old overcoats, and
wrap up their little ones, and take one or two of them
up on their beasts, and their husbands would walk,
and they would go to church, and stay in the neighbor-
hood until the next day, and then go home. The old
men would start out of their fields from their work, or
out of the woods from hunting, with their guns on
their shoulders, and go to church. Some of them
dressed in deerskin pants and moccasins, hunting-
WORKING AND WINNING. 133
shirts with a rope or leather strap around them. They
would come in laughing, shake hands all around, sit
down and talk about their game they had killed, or
some other work they had done, and smoke their pipes
together with the old ladies. If in warm weather, they
would kindle up a little fire out in the meeting-house
yard, to light their pipes. If in the winter-time, they
would hold church in some of the neighbors' houses.
At such times they were always treated with the utmost
kindness ; a bottle of whiskey, a pitcher of water, sugar
and a glass, were set out, or a basket of apples, or
turnips, or some pies and cakes. Apples were scarce
at that time. Sometimes potatoes were used as a
treat. The first treat I ever received in old Mr. Lin-
coln's house (that was our President's father's house),
was a plate of potatoes, washed and pared very nicely,
and handed round. It was something new to me, for
I had never seen a raw potato eaten before. I looked
to see how they made use of them. Each took off a
potato, and ate it like an apple. Thus they spent the
time till preaching commenced ; then they would all
take their seats ; the preacher would take his stand,
draw off his coat, open his shirt-collar, commence ser-
vice by singing and prayer ; take his text and preach till
the sweat would roll off in great drops. Shaking hands
and singing ended the service. The people seemed to
enjoy religious service more in those days than they
do now. They were glad to see each other, and en-
joyed themselves better than they do now."
The population had increased very much at the
period of which Mrs. Crawford speaks, and log meet-
ing-houses were found here and there, at least for sum-
134 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
mer use. Some of them were too open and cold for
winter use.
The people were very superstitious, as unlettered
people usually are. Mr. Lamon has recorded their
superstitious notions in a single paragraph, thus : —
" They firmly believed in witches and all kinds of
witch-doings. They sent for wizards to cure sick
cattle. They shot the image of the witch with a
silver ball, to break the spell she was supposed to have
laid on a human being. If a dog ran directly across a
man's path whilst he was hunting, it was terrible
' luck,' unless he instantly hooked his two little
fingers together, and pulled with all his might, until
the dog was out of sight. There were wizards who
took charmed sticks in their hands, and made them
point to springs of water and all kinds of treasure be-
neath the earth's surface. There were 'faith doctors'
who cured diseases by performing mysterious cere,
monies and muttering cabalistic words. If a bird
alighted in a window, one of the family would speedily
die. If a horse breathed on a child, the child would
have the whooping-cough. Every thing must be done
at certain 'times and seasons.' They must make
fence 'in the light of the moon/ otherwise the fence
would sink. Potatoes and other roots were to be
planted ' in the dark of the moon,' but trees and
plants which bare their fruits above ground must be
' put out in the light of the moon.' The moon exerted
a fearful influence, either kindly or malignant, as the
good old rules were observed or not. It was even re-
quired to make soap ' in the light of the moon,' and,
moreover, it must be stirred only one way, and by one
WORKING AND WINNING. 135
person. Nothing of importance was to be begun on
Friday. All enterprises inaugurated on that day went
fatally amiss."
Abraham Lincoln was reared from infancy to man-
hood among these people. Their manners, customs,
habits, and opinions, were familiar to him, and he knew
no others by which to judge of them by contrast. The
children of those people were his daily companions.
He worked for and with their parents, heard their
conversation, witnessed their want and ignorance, and
nowhere found those intellectual conditions which could
satisfy a mind like his. It is not strange that some of
the peculiarities of the people, with whom he was reared,
became his, and clung to him through life.
The incidents of this chapter, will serve to magnify
the mental and moral qualities of Abraham, which
enabled him to improve and rise higher and higher
even with such unfavorable surroundings.
James Taylor, who lived at the mouth of Anderson's
Creek, was anxious to secure Abraham's services.
"I will give him six dollars a month and his board,"
said Mr. Taylor to Mr. Lincoln ; "and that is good pay
for a boy sixteen years old."
" Fair pay," responded Mr. Lincoln. " You want him
to run your ferry-boat?" Mr. Taylor ran a ferry-boat
across both the Ohio and Anderson's Creek.
"Yes, and other jobs that I want done; some farm-
work; to take care of the horses, and chore about," was
Mr. Taylor's reply.
" Abe can do as well by you in such work as a man
grown, though I don't expect to get a man's wages for
him," added Mr. Lincoln.
136 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
"That is the reason I want him," said Mr. Taylor,
" I would n't give many boys that price anyhow; but 1
know that Abe is reliable, and he knows which side his
bread is buttered."
"For how many months will you pay him six dollars
a month?"
"For nine months certainly, and perhaps longer."
"That's satisfactory ; perhaps I won't want he should
stay any longer."
" Well," continued Mr. Taylor, "do I understand that
he may go? I want him at once."
" He may go," answered Mr. Lincoln ; " and he may
begin at once if you say so."
"I say so ; and shall expect to see him to-morrow,"
added Mr. Taylor, as he turned away and drove off.
Abraham was duly installed ferryman by his employer,
though he was given to understand that, at times, he
would be expected to act as farmer, hostler, and house-
servant. He particularly enjoyed being ferryman, as
it was new business for him ; and, like most boys, he
loved boating. He was very large of his age and very
strong, and could therefore handle a boat as easily and
effectively as a man. He was growing rapidly still,
and, at seventeen years of age, he was six feet and four
inches high — both the tallest and strongest person in
Spencer County.
Abraham was expected to be the first one up in the
house in the morning, "build the fire," "put on the
water in the kitchen," and "get things prepared for
cooking," before Mrs. Taylor put in her appearance.
Other things, such as bringing wood and water, he
attended to with scrupulous exactness. It was not
WORKING AND WINNING. 137
strange that the mistress of the house soon came to
regard him as the most wonderful boy she ever
knew. We doubt if she had ever found a man or boy,
not excepting her own husband and son, who was so
" wonderful" as to "chore about" as Abraham did,
without protesting. He was in the truest sense a
" man-of -all-work " at Taylor's, doing whatsoever his
hands found to do with all his might.
Here Abraham found a History of the United
States, and two or three other volumes, that en-
grossed his attention at night. He slept up stairs
with Green Taylor, son of his employer, a young man
older than himself, without any of his brightness or
ambition ; and there he often extended his reading
far into the night, much to the annoyance of his bed-
fellow.
" Blow out that light and come to bed, Abe," he
exclaimed more than once. " I'll be bound if you shall
spoil my sleep for a book."
" Let me read you a page or two," Abraham pro-
vokingly, though jocosely, answered. " A snooze is of
no account in comparison with the History of the
United States." And he continued to read until
interrupted by another appeal out of the bedclothes.
"Abe, I say, if you don't come to bed, I'll get up
and blow your light out."
" Will ? Well ; I would if I was in your place. Per-
haps you can blow it out without getting up. Try it ;
there is a good amount of blow in you."
The fretted sleeper could get no satisfaction in
appealing to the midnight reader. A good-natured
humorous reply was all Abraham would yield to him.
138 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
Once Green Taylor struck the " hired boy," in an angry
mood, but Abraham did not strike back again. He
was indignant enough to do it ; but, being a greater
warrior than he who taketh a city, he controlled his
own spirit, and continued to read on. Years after-
wards Green Taylor lived to rehearse his experience
with Abraham, and tell what a marvellous boy he was.
"Why, he would work hard all day, read till mid-
night, and then get up before anybody in the morning.
I never saw such a fellow. He was like Abe Lincoln
and nobody else." Referring to his act of striking
him, he said, " Abe was mad, but he didn't thrash
me." The language implies that Abraham could
easily have avenged himself by whipping the offender,
but that he forbore — his better judgment and nature
controlling instead of passion.
At Taylor's, Abraham tried his hand at hog-killing
for the first time. He had assisted many times in the
slaughtering of hogs, but never before had played the
part of butcher.
" You can try it, Abe," said Mr. Taylor, who saw
that the boy could do anything he would undertake.
" What do you say ? "
"Just as you say," answered Abraham; "if you'll
risk the hogs I'll risk myself." Mr. Taylor, laughing
at this reply, responded : —
" I'll take the risk ; so you may go ahead."
In this way Abraham became a butcher, and soon
grew so expert in the rough business that farmers em-
ployed him. He slaughtered hogs for John Dathan,
Stephen Mc Daniels, John Woods, and others ; and
Mr. Taylor received thirty-one cents a day for the
WORKING AND WINNING. 1 39
boy's services in this line. He did the business well,
and for that reason, his labors were demanded for hog-
killing.
Ferryman, farmer, hostler, house-servant, butcher —
all for one man, and all well done. Mr. Taylor unwit-
tingly paid him a high compliment, when he remarked
to a neighbor, " Abe will do one thing about as well as
another." Perhaps he did not know the reason, which
was, plainly, that thoroughness was a rule with him.
Whatever he did, he did as well as he could.
At the expiration of nine months, Abraham returned
home. His sister married Aaron Grigsby soon after
his return, and the event was celebrated in pioneer
style, in Lincoln's cabin. Abraham composed for the
occasion, what he entitled "Adam and Eve's Wedding
Song," two verses of which were, — •
" The Lord was not willing
That man should be alone,
But caused a sleep upon him,
And took from him a bone.
The woman was not taken
From Adam's feet we see ;
So he must not abuse her,
The meaning seems to be."
Tliis song was sung at the wedding with much eclat.
We may add, in this connection, that Abraham had
become an almost indispensable appendage to festive
occasions in all that region. He was the only person
who could furnish any literary production for the
amusement of either the old or young. He was sur-
charged with wit and humor, also, and it was only
140 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
necessary to touch him, on such occasions, and he
emitted both like electric sparks. He could recite
pages of poetry and prose, and somehow he could adapt
them to any exigency that might arise. In short, his
talents and unusual acquisitions made him a favorite in
all social gatherings.
One year after Sarah Lincoln was married, she died,
and was laid beside her mother on the knoll. This was
a great sorrow to Abraham, who loved his sister ten-
derly ; and, for a time, his spirits were considerably
depressed.
Some time after he served Taylor, he went to live
with the storekeeper Jones, at Gentryville, only one
mile and a half from his home. He was now a giant
in stature — six feet and four inches tall — almost too
tall to have about in log-cabins. Jones was an
admirer of Abraham, and admitted him at once to his
confidence.
" You can cut up pork, can't you, Abe ? " Jones asked.
"Yes; I can do anything about pork, from killing
and dressing to eating it" Jones bought dressed hogs,
exchanging goods for them ; also venison hams, corn,
wheat, and corn-skins. Corn was ten cents a bushel^
and wheat twenty-five cents.
" How about the store, Abe ? Can you keep store ? ■ ■■.
"I've never tried it," answered Abraham. "I'm so
stylish and graceful that I might attract customers
possibly." He was always jocose over his awkward
and homely bearing, and so he replied to Jones in this
facetious way.
"Well, I'll give you a chance to display your attmc*
tions," continued Jones. " There's a great variety of
WORKING AND WINNING. 141
work to be done in such a place as this — teaming,
cutting up and curing pork, packing and unpacking
goods, measuring corn and wheat, drawing molasses
and whiskey, and tending store generally."
Into this work Abraham was inducted at once, a new
field of labor to him in some respects. He drove team,
packed and unpacked goods, drew liquids in the cellar
when required, exhibited and sold crockery, and other
heavy goods, to customers. Nor did he fail to render
good service to Mrs. Jones, who soon discovered how
" handy" he was about the house.
Mr, Jones possessed several books which Abraham
had not read, among them the Life of Franklin. He,
also, took a newspaper which Abraham read from
beginning to end. He was quite a politician, too, a
Jackson democrat, and he often discussed political
questions with Abraham. In fact, he made a Jackson
democrat of Abraham, and the latter continued in that
faith, unshaken, until the Life of Henry Clay came into
his hands, a few years later. Reading that life of the
famous " Harry of the West," rather shook his confi-
dence in Jackson's political creed. He was particularly
taken with the discouraging surroundings of Clay in
his boyhood and youth, when he was known as the
u mill-boy of the slashes," because those surroundings
were so much like those of his own boyhood. Some
of his friends believe that reading the Life of Clay
turned his thoughts or aims, perhaps unconsciously to
himself, in the direction of a public career. It is cer-
tain that he became a " Clay Whig," and continued so
until the question of liberty engaged his heart and soul
in Illinois.
142 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
After Abraham ceased to serve Mr. Jones, he con.
tinued to visit his grocery often, in the evening, in
company with Dennis Hanks and other companions.
Here politics were discussed, stories told, jokes cracked,
and general good friendship established. Abraham was
the star of the group, because he was full of wit, an
expert story-teller, and the only one of the number who
could recite prose and poetry, and write them too.
One night, when he was returning from the grocer);
quite late, in company with David Turnham and others,
a man was discovered lying beside a mud-puddle.
" Hallo!" exclaimed David, "what's this, Abe?"
stopping, and pulling the unknown man over.
" Dead or drunk," remarked Abraham, at the same
time proceeding to shake up the man. " Who is it ?"
" More'n I know ; nobody that I ever saw before,"
David answered. " Shake him up more and see
whether there's any life in him." And they shook
him thoroughly to arouse him, but in vain.
" Plenty of rum in him if there is no life," remarked
Abraham, after satisfying himself that the man was
dead drunk. " But his case must be attended to."
"You may attend to him if you want to, but I
sha'n't," said Nat Grigsby. "Come, let's go home."
" So I say," added David ; " it's too cold to fuss
about here. If the fellow likes such a bed he may
sleep it out for all me."
" He'll freeze to death before morning if we leave
him here," responded Abraham.
" That's about all he's good for," chimed in Nat.
By this time they had discovered that the man was a
miserable drunkard who lived some miles away. " Come
WORKING AND WINNING. 143
on, I'm going home, whether the old fellow freezes or
not." And Nat started on.
" Well, I sha'n't go home until I make out what is
going to become of this chap," said Abraham. " It
would be inhuman to leave him to freeze here."
" Perhaps it would, and perhaps it wouldn't," replied
David. " Nobody is any better for his living, and some
folks are worse. He's a good-for-nothing fellow any
way."
" That's no reason why we should let him die here
like a dog or hog," retorted Abraham with some spirit.
" Come, Dave, let that go, and we'll take him over to
Dennis' cabin." At this time Dennis Hanks was mar-
ried and lived in a cabin a half mile away.
" I think I see myself tugging the miserable wretch
a half mile at this time of night," retorted David.
" You may make a fool of yourself over him if you
want to, but I am going home." And David started
for home, hearing, as he hurried away, Abraham say-
ing,— " Go, then, you hard-hearted fellow."
Abraham was not more than a minute in determin-
ing what to do. He put his long strong arms around
the drunken man, raised him up, flung him over his
shoulder as he would a bag of corn, and started for
Dennis Hanks' cabin, where he safely deposited him.
" Look here, Dennis, I've brought you company,"
said Abraham, as he laid down his burden. " More of
a job to carry him than a log."
" Where did you find that fellow, Abe ? " inquired
Dennis, getting out of bed.
" In the road, where he would have died before
morning, if I'd left him there."
144 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" I know him of old, not much account any way,M
added Dennis.
" Account enough to fix up a little," retorted Abra-
ham. "We ought to be human beings so long as we
pretend to be."
"Go ahead, then," said Dennis, acquiescing; "see
how you come out." And he proceeded to assist
Abraham in his merciful work. They built a fire,
warmed him, and Abraham rubbed him until con-
sciousness was restored. In fact, he remained all
night with the intemperate man, and left him in the
morning well satisfied with the part he had played as
"good Samaritan." Afterwards, the wretched man
said to John Hanks, " It was mighty clever in Abe to
take me to a warm fire that cold night. Abe's strength
and kindness saved my life."
CHAPTER XL
UPWARD AND ONWARD.
HE brief remarks made about Abraham at
this time show his standing.
"He is always ready to do everything for
everybody," remarked his mother.
"He is good-natured as the days are long," said
Dennis Hanks.
"Always reading when he is not working," said
Josiah Crawford.
" More fun in him than there is in all the rest of us
put together," remarked David Turnham.
Such remarks as these were common concerning
Abraham Lincoln from the time he was fourteen years
of age. John Hanks, who went to live with the Lincolns,
as we have said, when Abraham was fourteen, says : —
" When Abe and I returned to the house from work, he
would go to the cupboard, snatch a piece of corn-bread,
take down a book, sit down on a chair, cross his legs
as high as his head, and read. He and I worked bare-
footed, grubbed it, ploughed, mowed, and cradled to-
gether; ploughed corn, gathered it, and shucked corn.
Abraham read constantly when he had an opportu*
nity."
146 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
Mr. Lamon says : " Abe loved to lie under a shade-
tree, or up in the loft of the cabin, and read, cipher,
and scribble. At night, he sat by the chimney "jamb,"
and ciphered, by the light of the fire, on the wooden
fire-shovel. When the shovel was fairly covered, he
would shave it off with Tom Lincoln's drawing-knife,
and begin again. In the day time, he used boards for
the same purpose, out of doors, and went through the
shaving process everlastingly."
His mother says : " Abe read every book he could lay
his hands on ; and when he came across a passage that
struck him, he would write it down on boards if he had
no paper, and keep it there until he did get paper.
Then he would re-write it, look at it, and repeat it.
He had a copy-book, a kind of scrap-book, in which he
put down all things, and thus preserved them."
There is no record of how and where he obtained the
scrap-book. The idea was entirely original with him,
since he had never heard of any such device in his
part of the country. There is no question that he
possessed a scrap-book, and that it became an impor-
tant agent in making him a scholar and statesman.
He copied into it chiefly from the books he borrowed,
thinking he would not have the opportunity to see
them again. Books that he owned, as well as those
belonging to his parents, he marked, that he might
refer to striking passages at his leisure. Also, he
frequently wrote brief compositions in that scrap-
book, improving his talent for the art thereby. As an
invention, at that time, the scrap-book was worthy of
his genius, and, as a source of mental improvement,
its value was never over-estimated.
UPWARD AND ONWARD. 1 47
One of the finest and most touching tributes ever
paid to his memory was spoken by his mother to Mr.
Herndon, and we quote it here because it had reference
to his early life. She said: —
" Abe was a poor boy, and I can say what scarcely
one woman — a mother — can say, in a thousand.
Abe never gave me a cross word or look, and never
refused, in fact or appearance, to do any thing I re-
quested him. I never gave him a cross word in all
my life. . . . His mind and my mind — what little
I had — seemed to run together. . . . He was
here after he was elected President." Here she
stopped, unable to proceed any further, and after her
grateful emotions had spent themselves in tears, she
proceeded : " He was dutiful to me always. I think
he loved me truly. I had a son, John, who was raised
with Abe. Both were good boys ; but I must say,
both being now dead, that Abe was the best boy I
ever saw, or ever expect to see. I wish I had died
when my husband died. I did not want Abe to run
for President f did not want him elected ; was afraid
somehow, — felt it in my heart ; and when he came
down to see me, after he was elected President, I felt
that something would befall him, and that I should see
him no more."
Mr. Lamon relates that, when this interview closed,
and Mr. Herndon was about to retire, Mrs. Lincoln
took one of his hands in both of hers, and wringing
it, with the tears streaming down her cheeks, as if
loath to separate from one who knew her "Abe" so
intimately, said: uGood-b), my good son's friend.
Farewell."
148 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
Abraham tried his father often by his persistent
efforts to gain time to read and study, and by his
disposition to turn night into day, that he might pore
over some engrossing book, or compose a " poem " or
" chronicle " upon some passing event, pleasant or
otherwise. He was more tried, however, by Abraham's
" preaching about" and "making "political speeches"
on stumps, than anything ; for this interfered with
business. His step-sister, Matilda Johnson, says he
was remarkable for preaching and speech-making. On
Monday mornings, after he had listened to a sermon,
he would mount a stump, and deliver the sermon,
which his memory retained with wonderful accuracy.
In the field, he often amused his working companions
with a speech upon some subject that was uppermost ;
and, when he began to orate, there was an end of labor.
All hands gathered about him in admiration, and
cheered him on. Thomas Lincoln thought Abraham
was carrying the matter too far. But he said nothing,
especially authoritative, until the community was vis-
ited by a preacher of singular eccentricities. He
bellowed like a bull of Bashan in the pulpit, a fearful
nasal twang accompanying his cracked voice ; and he
pounded the desk in his excitement, as if determined
to reduce it to kindling wood. His performance was
fun for the young people ; and Abraham was especially
amused. His gift of imitation enabled him to repro-
duce the sermon, with its nasal twang and other oddi-
ties, so that the eccentricities of the preacher were
reproduced and re-repeated, over and over, on the
stumps of the field, and at evening gatherings. When
Abraham began to preach that sermon, in cabin or
UPWARD AND ONWARD. 149
field, his audience could attend to nothing else until
the discourse was finished. The exercise of laughing
over it was well-nigh as exhaustive and violent as that
of chopping. Even the old people, who thought it was
not quite right to make so much merriment over a
sermon, could not help laughing when Abraham be-
came the eccentric pulpit orator. But his father felt
obliged to interfere with this habit of public speaking.
It became too much of an interruption to necessary
work.
" You must stop it, Abe. I won't have it. You'll
get to liking fun more than work ; guess you do now.
I've put up with it long enough, — shan't any longer.
Don't let me have to speak to you about it again." So
Mr. Lincoln interrupted Abraham's practice of stump-
speaking, in his irritation manifesting considerable
feeling on the subject.
Yet there is no doubt that Mr. Lincoln was proud
of the ability of his son, and, at heart, enjoyed his pre-
cocity. In his ignorance, he might have feared that
his habit of speech-making would make him lazy or
shiftless. Whether he did or not, Abraham evidently
laid the foundation of his future greatness as an orator
and debater in those remarkable days of his youth.
A better practice to discipline him for public service
could not have engaged his attention. The pioneer
boy was unconsciously schooling himself for the highest
position in the land.
Abraham worked often for William Wood, who lived
one mile and a half away. Mr. Lincoln worked there,
also, as a carpenter, whenever labor in his line was
demanded. Abraham loved to work for Mr. Wood, fof
150 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
he took two papers, which the boy could read through
and through. One of them was a temperance paper,
and its contents interested him more even than the
political paper.
"I did not know that a paper like this was ever
printed," he said to Mr. Wood, who was one of the
most intelligent and well posted men of Spencer
County. "It's true, every word of it."
"Of course it is," replied Mr. Wood. "Rum is
well enough in its place, but there's no reason in men
making such beasts of themselves as many do about
here."
" I shouldn't care if the whole of it was at the bottom
of the Ohio River, where most of my father's whiskey
went," continued Abraham. "It does a great sight
more evil than good any day."
" Good ! It would puzzle most any one to tell what
good whiskey does," responded Mr. Wood. "The evil
it does is known to everybody ; we can see that every-
where. It adds very much to the hardships of life in
this part of the country."
Abraham became so enthusiastic over the tem-
perance paper and the cause which it represented,
that he wrote a long composition on the subject of
" Temperance," and submitted it to Mr. Wood's ex-
amination.
"Did you write all this yourself, Abe?" remarked
Mr. Wood, before reading it, but noticing its length.
"Every word of it; and I want you to read it over,
and tell me what you think about it."
" I will read it to-night without fail," and Mr. Wood
did read it. His opinion of it is learned from the fact,
UPWARD AND ONWARD. 151
that he remarked to a Baptist minister who called at
his house : —
"1 have here a composition on Temperance, written
by Abe Lincoln, and I think it is a wonderful produc-
tion for such a boy to write. I want you should read
it, and see if you do not agree with me."
" I should be glad to read it, here and now," replied
the minister. "I'm glad that Abe is writing on that
subject." And he applied himself to reading the com-
position at once.
" I agree with you entirely," said the minister, com-
pleting the reading;" it is a remarkable production
for such a boy."
" I would like to see it printed in this temperance
paper," continued Mr. Wood, holding the paper up.
"It is worthy of a place in it," added the minister.
" They publish articles that are not half as good,"
responded Mr. Wood. " You can get this composition
to the editor ; it is right in your way."
"Yes, I can take it there, and should be glad to
do it."
"Well, you take it, and I'll make it right with Abe."
" He won't have any objection, if he is like most
boys," remarked the minister. " He'll be a little proud
to appear in print."
The minister took the article along with him, and,
subsequently, it appeared in the columns of the paper.
Mr. Wood read it over again in print, and remarked :
"It excels anything there is in the paper." Abra-
ham was both gratified and encouraged by the publi-
cation of his article. The paper was lent to the
families in the neighborhood, after they heard that
152 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
Abraham was a writer for its columns, and the univer-
sal verdict was, "a remarkable composition for a boy."
"Can't you write on politics, Abe ? " said Mr. Wood
to him, one day.
"Yes, sir; I have written some pieces on that
subject/'
"Well, I mean an article to be printed in some
political paper."
"I can try," continued Abraham, elated with the
idea of writing for a political paper. "What shall I
write about?"
Mr. Wood made some suggestions about the subject ;
and, in the course of a week, Abraham brought him
the article. Mr. Wood remembers enough of it to
furnish the drift of the composition: —
" That the American Government is the best form of
government for an intelligent people ; that it ought to
be sound, and preserved forever ; that general educa-
tion should be fostered and carried all over the country ;
that the Constitution should be saved, the Union per-
petuated, and the laws revered, respected, and en-
forced."
Mr. Wood was even more gratified and surprised on
reading this article than he was on reading the other.
We think that the composition is more remarkable now
than it was then, on account of subsequent events.
For it surely contained the gist of Abraham Lincoln's
inaugural address when he became President. On that
occasion he said : —
" I hold, that, in the contemplation of universal law
and of the Constitution, the union of these States is
perpetual. Perpetuity is implied, if not expressed, in
UPWARD AND ONWARD. 1 53
the fundamental law of all national governments.
Continue to execute all the express provisions of our
national Constitution, and the Union will endure for-
ever. ... I consider that in view of the Constitution
and the laws, the Union is unbroken ; and to the extent
of my ability, I shall take care, as the Constitution
itself expressly enjoins upon me, that the laws of the
Union shall be faithfully executed."
How wonderful that the pioneer boy who wrote the
aforesaid article for a political paper should become
President of the United States thirty-three years there-
after, and reiterate in his inaugural address the same
sentiments, when the enemies of the country were seek-
ing to overthrow the Constitution, abrogate its laws,
and sever the Union ! Truly
" There's a divinity that shapes our ends,
Rough-hew them how we will."
A lawyer, by the name of Pritchard, was passing by
Mr. Wood's house, when the political article in question
was in his hands. Mr. Wood called him in, remarking,
" I want you should read an article I have here, and
see what you think of it." He did not disclose who
was the author of it.
"Your own ?" inquired Pritchard.
"That's no matter ; read it."
" I will, if that is your wish ; " and Pritchard sat down
to its perusal. As he read the last sentence, he re
marked, in a very enthusiastic way, —
" It can't be beat. Is it yours ? "
"No; it is not mine. Tom Lincoln's son, Abe,
wrote it, and I think it is wonderful for a boy."
154 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
"More than that," added Pritchard, still more in*
terested when he learned that a boy wrote it. " Let
me have it to publish in our paper," meaning the paper
of his section.
" That's what it was written for, — to be published in
some political paper," answered Mr. Wood. "An
article of Abe's was published in my temperance paper
not long ago, and it was the best thing it had, Abe is
a great temperance boy."
The last remark makes it necessary to interject a
paragraph here. We have undoubted testimony that
Abraham was the only person in that region, at
that time, who refused on all occasions to partake of
intoxicating liquors. His opposition to the practice
was so well known, that, at house-raisings, log-rollings,
huskings, and parties, it was not expected that he would
touch anything which would intoxicate. It was his
decided stand against intoxicants that caused his mother
to say, " I think Abe carries his temperance notions to
extremes."
It was arranged that Pritchard should take the article
to the editor of a political paper for publication ; and,
in due time, it appeared, much to the satisfaction of
Mr. Wood, the joy of Abraham, and the pride of the
neighborhood. Abraham wrote other articles which he
submitted to the examination of Mr. Wood ; and the
exercise of writing composition became to him an
excellent discipline, and did much to help him upward
and onward.
A Mr. Richardson, who lived in the vicinity at that
time, says :
"Abe was the best penman in the neighborhood.
UPWARD AND ONWARD. I5J
One day, while he was on a visit to my mother's, I asked
him to write some original copies for me. He very
willingly consented. He wrote several of them, but one
of them I have never forgotten, although a boy at the
time. It was this : —
* Good boys, who to their books apply,
Will all be great men by and by.' "
Abraham came into the possession of a copy-book
(not the scrap-book spoken of) in which he wrote orig-
inal copies. Here is one : —
" Abraham Lincoln, his hand and pen ;
He will be good, but God knows when."
In the same book he wrote the following : —
" Time ! what an empty vapor 'tis !
And days, how swift they are !
Swift as an Indian arrow,
Fly on like a shooting-star,
The present moment just is here,
Then slides away in haste,
That we can never say they're ours,
But only say they're past."
Many such "pieces," in poetry and prose, he wrote,
exhibiting thought, genius, noble aspirations, and
marked talents.
We have intimated that Abraham's love of books
prevented his becoming a hunter. He could not spare
-the time. If he were not at work, he had a book in
his hand. Other boys became hunters. It was neces-
sary for them to be in order to procure food and a
livelihood, Dennis Hanks says, "When we had spare
156 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
time we picked up the rifle, and brought in a fine deef
or turkey ; and in the winter-time we went coon-hunt
ing, for coon-skins were considered legal tender, and
deerskins and hams." The woods were full of rabbits,
partridges, squirrels, and other game, but these were
not shot much for food. Deer and turkeys were more
desirable for the harder. The smaller game mentioned
was so plenty, that the settlers resorted to various
devices to destroy them. They devastated gardens and
grain-fields, and the pioneers made war upon them as a
nuisance.
Bears, wild-cats, and panthers, also, were quite numer-
ous, and these were shot in self-defence. The scream
of the latter often filled the forest with terror at night,
in Abraham's early life. Yet, our hero never did much
at hunting. A book, instead of a gun, captivated his
heart, and he read and studied when other boys hunted
and had rare sport. We do not mean that he never
engaged in this pastime ; for he did occasionally accom-
pany companions upon hunting excursions. But, com-
pared with the average boy of the county, he was not a
hunter.
Abraham enjoyed certain "plays" and games more
than he did hunting. His social qualities and genuine
humor fitted him for this sphere more than for the
other. These "plays," without Abraham, were the
play of Hamlet with Hamlet left out. He made things
lively by his wit and geniality. Exactly what the
" plays " were, we cannot affirm : we can only give their
names as furnished by Dennis Hanks. " Throwing the
mall," "cat," "four-corner bull-pen," "hopping and
half-hammon," and " Sister Feby," an evening game
UPWARD AND ONWARD, 1 57
Whatever these "plays" were, Abraham was "a bright
particular star" in them, whenever and wherever his
presence could be secured.
From the time Abraham was eighteen years of age,
his physical strength was remarkable. Some of the
stories about his strength, told by the neighbors, are
almost incredible. He was not only a giant in stature,
but a giant in strength. Observers looked on amazed
at the exhibition. Richardson, a neighbor, declares
that he could carry a load* to which the strength of
three ordinary men would scarcely be equal. He
saw him quietly pick up and walk away with " a chicken-
house, made of poles pinned together, and covered, that
weighed at least six hundred, if not much more." At
another time, the Richardsons were building a corn-
crib; Abe was there; and, seeing three or four men
preparing " sticks" upon which to carry some huge
posts, he relieved them of all further trouble by shoulder-
ing the posts, single-handed, and walking away with
them to the place where they were wanted. " He could
strike with a mall," says old Mr. Wood, "a heavier
blow than any man. ... He could sink an axe deeper
into the wood than any man I ever saw."* Wrestling
was a common and popular sport among pioneers, and
here Abraham excelled all his companions. The sequel
will show how his remarkable physical strength aided
him in the labors, burdens, trials, and responsibilities
of his public life.
* Lamon's Life of Lincoln, p. 52.
CHAPTER XII.
ON THE FLAT-BOAT.
N the first of March, 1828, Abraham went
to work for old Mr. Gentry, the proprietor
of Gentryville. Here, again, he was a "man-
of -all-work," doing whatsoever his employer
found for him to do. Mr. Gentry had a son by the
name of Allen, with whom Abraham worked. He was
a little older than Abraham, and a suitable companion
for him.
"How would you like to run a flat-boat to New
Orleans, Abe?" said Mr. Gentry to him, early in April.
"I believe you are used to boating."
" I know something about it," Abraham replied. " I
should like to go to New Orleans. How far is it?"
"About eighteen hundred miles. I'm thinking of
letting Allen take a trip there if you will go with
him."
"How soon?"
•' Just as soon as you can get ready. I have a load
of bacon and other produce on hand now. It's some
work to get ready."
" Well, I'll be ready any time you say, if father don't
object, and I don't think he will," added Abraham.
ON THE FLAT-BOAT. 1 59
" He won't care if I pay you well for it," responded
Mr. Gentry. " I shall give you eight dollars a month,
and pay your passage home on a steamer. You and
Allen together can manage such a trip well."
Abraham's service of four or five weeks had satis,
fied Mr. Gentry that he was just the hand to send
on a trading expedition to New Orleans. His tact,
strength and fidelity were three essential requisites to
ensure a successful expedition. Flat-boating on the
Western waters, at that time, was an exciting and
perilous business ; and some account of it here will
reflect light upon Abraham's venture.
For some years there had been a class of boat-
men, fearless, hardy, athletic men, who " traversed
the longest rivers, penetrated the most remote wil-
derness upon their watery routes, and kept up a
trade and irtercourse between the most distant
points."
They were exposed to great perils, and were out
shelterless in all kinds of weather. With no bed but
the deck of their boats on which to lie at night, and no
covering bu? a blanket, they spent months and years
of their existence.
It was on such boats that the rich cargoes ascend-
ing the Mississippi were carried. By human labor
they were propelled against the strong current for
nearly two thousand miles ; and it was a labor that
required great muscular strength and remarkable
powers of endurance. The result was that a class of
men were trained in this business, of unusual courage,
and proud only of their ability to breast storms and
entire hardships,
160 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
In addition to this class, whose life-business it was
to propel these Western boats, there were those who
occasionally made a trip to New Orleans to sell their
stores. Sometimes several farmers, or other persons,
would club together and make out a cargo, and send it
down to New Orleans ; and sometimes one alone
would do the same. This was the case with Mr. Gen-
try. He had a quantity of stores suited to meet the
wants of the sugar plantations in Louisiana, and he
wanted to convert them into cash. Money was very
scarce, and many families, like that of Mr. Lincoln,
saw but little. What was in circulation was brought
into the Western country by people moving thither
from the East, or was obtained, as Mr. Gentry pro-
posed to obtain some, by sending a boat-load of stores
to New Orleans.
Abraham consulted his father, who readily consented.
His mother remarked : —
" Eighteen hundred miles is rather of a long trip
for a fellow who hasn't seen more of the world than
you have, Abe."
" None too long, mother. I shall see some of the
world now if I never have before."
" And perhaps see the bottom of the Mississippi,"
suggested his mother.
"I'm not afraid of that."
" But many have lost their lives in this way, and
men who have been used to the business, too."
"That's no sign I shall."
"It's no sign you won't."
"But I shan't borrow any trouble about it."
" I don't ask you to do that ; but it's worth while to
think of these things."
ON THE FLAT-BOAT. 161
" If you don't wan't I should go, I will give it up
now." Abraham inferred from his mother's manner
of speaking, that she was unwilling he should go.
" I do want you should go. I was only telling some
of my thoughts. I can't help thinking."
" It may be the best thing for me that I ever did,"
suggested Abraham.
" Yes, if no accident happens to you, I have no
doubt it will be a real good school for you. " But it's a
long ways to go, and a long time for you to be gone."
" But I have got to go away some time, and I may
as well begin now."
" Very true ; but that makes it no easier for me to
have you go. But it don't do any good to talk about
it now."
Preparations were made at once for the voyage.
A boat was provided at Gentry's Landing, which was
at Rockport, on the Ohio River, and Abraham and
Allen proceeded to load the cargo. Here Abraham
met with his old schoolmate, Miss Roby, whom he
assisted, at Crawford's school, to spell defied correctly.
She had grown into a winsome girl ; at least Allen
Gentry thought so ; for he afterwards courted and
married her. At the close of one day an incident
occurred that shows how Abraham was wont to pick
up knowledge. He was sitting with Miss Roby on the
boat, when she remarked : —
"The sun is going down."
" No ; it isn't," Abraham replied naively.
" You've lost your sight, then," suggested the girl,
at the same time anticipating that Abraham was in-
dulging in some roguery.
1 62 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" I can see as well as you can," responded Abraham,
"and I say, honestly, the sun is not going down, and
what is more, it never will go downy
"Wait and see," continued Miss Roby, laughing.
" It will seem to go down," added Abraham, in an
explanatory way.
" I rather think it will," Miss Roby answered
curtly.
" We go down, not the sun," Abraham continued.
"The sun stands still."
" It moves enough for me," interrupted Miss Roby
Abraham went on to explain : —
" You see the earth turns from west to east, and the
revolution of the earth carries us under, as it were ;
we do the sinking, as you call it. The sun does not
really set ; it only appears to."
" Abe ! what a fool you are ! " exclaimed the sur-
prised girl, who began to think that too much learning
had made her friend mad.
Forty years afterwards, Miss Roby, who became
Mrs. Gentry, said : —
" Now I know that I was the fool, not Lincoln. I
am now thoroughly satisfied that Abe knew the gen-
eral laws of astronomy and the movements of the
heavenly bodies. He was better read then than the
world knows, or is likely to know exactly. No man
could talk to me that night as he did unless he had
known something of geography as well as astronomy.
He often and often commented or talked to me about
what he had read, — seemed to read it out of the book
as he went along, — did so to others. He was the
learned boy among us unlearned folks. He took great
ON THE FLAT-BOAT. 1 63
pains to explain, and could do it so simply. He was
diffident then, too."
To return to the trip to New Orleans. As soon
as the cargo was loaded, the two boys started upon
their voyage, Abraham serving as " bow-hand, to work
the front oars." It was a very important event in the
life of our young friend, and his heart was greatly
elated. He was floating out into the broad world now.
His young eyes would behold its sights and scenes for
the first time. It is not strange that he pushed out
into the Ohio with a glad heart, and moved down to-
wards the " father of waters " with such anticipation
as never fired his breast before.
" I say, Abe, how many times are you going to upset
before reaching the Mississippi ? " asked Allen.
" I hardly think we shall do it more than once,"
answered Abraham, " unless you have a better faculty
than I have for loading up again in the water."
" I didn't think of that ; it would be a hard matter
to reload at the bottom of the river."
" Yes ; and we must look out for accidents, or your
father will wish he had never sent us._ I hope we
shall make a capital thing of it."
" I hope so too, or we shall never have another such
a chance. The old. man never would have sent me
if it had n't been for you, Abe."
" How so ? "
H Because he thinks you can do most anything
that's possible, and so he was willing to risk me and
all the cargo with you."
" Pshaw ! You are fooling now."
" No such thing ; it's the living truth. I expect he
164 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
thought that you could keep me and the cargo from
sinking if we did upset."
" Well, my mother rather expects the opposite, I
judge by her talk," replied Abraham. " She thinks it is
rather of a risky piece of business to send us on such
a trip."
" I 'spose 'tis," was Allen's thoughtful reply ; " and
it stands us in hand to do the very best we can."
It must suffice to say that their trip proved to be a
pleasant one. Many incidents occurred which we
cannot relate here, nor is it necessary for our purpose.
They lived upon the flat-boat, of course. At night
they drew it up to the bank of the river, in some
favorable spot, and tied it safely ; then laid down on
their " running board," as a flat-boat was sometimes
called, to sleep. They had no bed and nothing but
a blanket to cover them. True, this was not so great
a change for boys who were reared in the wilderness,
as it would be for boys of this day who are used to the
comforts and conveniences of affluent homes. Still it
was a change, and many of their nights were extremely
lonely.
Their voyage was not monotonous. The scenery
was continually changing, and they frequently passed
other boats with their merry crews, and held conver-
sations with people who flocked to the banks of the
river from adjacent villages. " Where are you from ? "
" Where are you bound ? " " What are you loaded
with?" were questions that they frequently had to
answer.
The days were not all sunshine. Heavy storms
sometimes descended upon them, and they had to
A Flat-Boatman.
ON THE FLAT-BOAT. 1 65
exert themselves to the utmost to keep their little
craft right side up. Day after day they were drenched
with rain, and still they must keep on the voyage.
Violent storms sometimes raged at night, the wind
blowing almost a hurricane, and the rain pouring down
in torrents, and still there was no alternative, — they
must make their bed on their little boat and take the
pelting of the storm. Those were times that tried
their spirit, and yet they had no complaints to utter.
Never for a moment did Abraham wish he had not
undertaken the voyage. The object of his expedition
had taken complete possession of his soul.
At Madame Bushane's plantation, six miles below
Baton Rouge, they had an adventure that is worthy of
rehearsal here. The boat was tied up, and the boys
were fast asleep in the stern when footsteps on board
awoke them. After listening a moment, Abraham
whispered :
" Foul play, Allen ! A gang of niggers come to
rob us ! "
Thinking to frighten them away, Allen shouted,
"Bring the guns, Abe, shoot 'em."
But the negroes did not flee, and the silence was as
oppressive as the darkness.
"Trouble for us," said Abraham in a low tone,
as he sprung to his feet and put his hand upon a
billet of wood. " We must fight for our lives.
Come."
Waiting and listening again for a moment, and hear
ing nothing, Abraham cried out :
" Who's there ? " No response.
" Who's there ? " he called with more emphasis.
1 66 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE,
The voices of several negroes, in threatening tones,
responded.
" What are you here for, you rascals ? " thundered
Abraham. " Be off with yourselves, or we'll throw you
into the river." And he dashed after them in the
darkness, followed by Allen. The negroes stood their
ground, armed with cudgels, and a fearful battle began
at once.
" Kill them ! " shouted Abraham to Allen. " They
mean to kill us. Knock the scoundrels into the
water."
And the clubs flew, and heavy blows were dealt
back and forth, until the contest became so close and
hot that clubs were useless, and a hand-to-hand fight
was inevitable. For ten minutes or more the conflict
raged, spattering the deck with blood, and threatening
the saddest results. At length, however, Abraham
threw one of the number into the river, when the
others leaped from the boat upon the shore.
" Let's after them ! " shouted Abraham, so thoroughly
aroused and excited as to banish all fear. " Show them
no quarter."
And the boys pursued them with their clubs for half
a mile, yelling at such a rate that the negroes thought,
no doubt, that a half score of boatmen were after them.
They were Madame Bushane's slaves, seeking plunder
on the boat, and they were thoroughly terrified. They
had not counted upon such a belligerent reception.
Abraham and Allen saw at once that it was a case of
life and death, and therefore they fought with despera-
tion. The negroes left some of their best blood on
deck, and it was mingled with that of our two young
ON THE FLAT-BOAT. 1 67
boatmen. For they received blows well nigh as hard
as those they gave, and their blood told of their
wounds. Abraham received a blow over his right eye,
the scar of which he carried through life.
"We must get the boat off now as quick as pos-
sible," said Allen, as they returned from the pursuit.
"The scamps may come back with twice the num-
ber."
" I was just thinking of that," replied Abraham,
" Jump aboard, and I will untie the boat. We must
lose no time."
In a minute Allen was aboard, and scarcely another
minute had passed before Abraham followed him, hav<-
ing loosed the boat.
"We are safe now, if the whole plantation comes,"
said Allen, as they shoved off into the stream.
" We sha'n't need to go far," added Abraham. " Only
change our position, and we are safe."
"That may be, but I think I shall sleep with my
eyes open the rest of the night."
"And I will keep you company," responded Abra-
ham. " The next time I come to New Orleans, I shall
come armed. This going to war without a gun is not
quite the thing."
" I wish we had been armed," said Allen. " Would n't
we have made the feathers fly ? "
"The wool, you mean," replied Abraham, jocosely.
He had become as cool as if nothing had happened.
"They meant to kill us."
" Of course they did. It would n't have done for
them to rob us, and leave us to tell the story to their
master. But they might have made way with us, and
1 68 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
robbed and sunk the boat, and nobody been any the
wiser for it."
"They are no fools, if they be niggers."
" No ; but after all they are not so much to blame,"
added Abraham. " Slavery has robbed them of every-
thing, and so I s'pose they think it is fair play to take
what they can get."
We shall only add that the voyage was continued to
New Orleans, and the cargo of bacon and other produce
disposed of to advantage. The boys returned to In-
diana on the deck of a steamer, according to Mr.
Gentry's arrangement before they started.
It is a remarkable fact, that Abraham, who fought
the slaves to save his life, should become their emanci-
pator, as we shall discover, thirty-five years thereafter \
CHAPTER XIII.
SUNDRY INCIDENTS.
|HERE is very satisfactory evidence that
Abraham went on a trading trip for his
father before he served Mr. Gentry, and
that he built a boat himself for the expedi-
tion. For Mr. Carpenter, the painter, in his " Six
Months in the White House," has the following from
Mr. Lincoln's lips, related to show how he came
into possession of the first dollar he could call his
own : —
In the Executive Chamber, one evening, there
were present a number of gentlemen, among them
Mr. Seward.
A point in the conversation suggesting the thought,
the President said : " Seward, you never heard, did
you, how I earned my first dollar? " "No," rejoined
Mr. Seward. "Well," continued Mr. Lincoln, "I was
about eighteen years of age. I belonged, you know,
to what they call down South, the ' scrubs ; ' people
who do not own slaves are nobody there. But we
had succeeded in raising, chiefly by my labor, suffi-
cient produce, as I thought, to justify me in taking it
down the river to sell.
170 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
"After much persuasion, I got the consent of
mother to go, and constructed a little flat-boat, large
enough to take a barrel or two of things that we had
gathered, with myself and little bundle, down to New
Orleans. A steamer was coming down the river. We
have, you know, no wharves on the Western streams ;
and the custom was, if passengers were at any of the
landings, for them to go out in a boat, the steamer
stopping and taking them on board.
" I was contemplating my new flat-boat, and won-
dering whether I could make it stronger or improve it
in any particular, when two men came down to the
shore in carriages, with trunks, and looking at the dif-
ferent boats, singled out mine, and asked, ' Who owns
this ? ' I answered, somewhat modestly, ' I do/ ' Will
you,' said one of them, ' take us and our trunks out to
the steamer.' * Certainly,' said I. I was very glad to
have the chance of earning something. I supposed
that each of them would give me two or three bits.
The trunks were put on my flat-boat, the passengers
seated themselves on the trunks, and I sculled them
out to the steamboat.
" They got on board, and I lifted up their heavy
trunks, and put them on deck. The steamer was
about to put on steam again, when I called out that
they had forgotten to pay me. Each of them took
from his pocket a silver half-dollar, and threw it on the
floor of my boat. I could scarcely believe my eyes as
I picked up the money. Gentlemen, you may think
it was a very little thing, and in these days it seems to
me a trifle ; but it was a most important incident in
my life. I could scarcely credit that I, a poor boy,
SUNDRY INCIDENTS. 17 1
had earned a dollar in less than a day, — that b}* hon-
est work I had earned a dollar. The world seemed
wider and fairer before me ; I was a more hopeful and
confident being from that hour."
Abraham had earned money before, considerable of
it3 but it belonged to his father, who did not believe
that a boy had any necessary use for it. The dollar
received for carrying the trunks he regarded his
own.
Abraham felt, after leaving Mr. Gentry, that he was
competent to earn more than he had done. Doubt-
less, also, his success in flat-boating awakened a strong
desire to continue in that business. For, one day, he
went to Mr. Wood's house, and stood around for some
time, as if he wanted to say something he lacked
courage to express.
"What is it, Abe ? " inquired Mr. Wood.
" I want to get a place to work on the river/'
" That so ? And what can I do for you ? "
" I would like to have you give me a recommenda-
tion to some boat, if you will."
"But you are not of age yet, Abe. Your father
has a claim on you." In that hard country, at that
time, parents needed the help of their sons, and their
claim upon their labor was enforced with rigor.
"I know that," continued Abraham; "but I want
to get a start somewhere, and I can do more for father
so than I can by staying around here."
" That may be ; but that's no reason why I should
interfere ; you and your father must settle that."
Abraham turned away from this interview somewhat
disappointed, yet disposed to make the best of it. He
172 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
abandoned the idea of life on the river, and continued
about home. Not long afterward, Mr. Wood saw him
cutting down a large tree in the forest to whip-saw
into plank.
" What's up now, Abe ? " Mr. Wood inquired.
" A new house ; father is talking of putting up a
new house."
"Ah ! And you are getting the lumber ready ? "
" Yes ; going to have it all ready' by the time he gets
ready to build."
" A better house, I suppose ?" said Mr. Wood, in-
quiringly.
" I hope so ; mother wants it badly."
"Well, I don't blame her," added Mr. Wood, as he
turned away.
But Abraham's father did not build the house, as
we shall learn in the next chapter. The lumber was
prepared, but the project of removing to Illinois
changed his purpose, and the lumber was sold to.
Josiah Crawford — the man who extorted work from
Abraham for the book.
David Turnham bought a copy of the "Statutes of
Indiana," and Abraham heard of it, in consequence of
which he called upon the neighbor.
" Can I see your copy of the Statutes of Indiana? I
hear you have one," Abraham asked.
"Of course you can, Abe," answered David. "Going
to study law? It wouldn't be bad business for you."
"I sha'n't begin to-day," responded Abraham; "but
I want to take a look into the laws of Indiana. I don't
know much about them."
"That's the case with me; and that's the reason I
SUNDRY INCIDENTS. 173
bought the book. I can't spare it for you to take
home, for I study it every minute I have to spare."
"I can read it here, just as well," replied Abraham,
as David handed him the book. "It don't make any
difference where I read it."
The result was that Abraham spent much time at
David Turnham's in studying the statutes of his adopted
State. When David wanted the book, Abraham turned
to Scott's Lessons and Sinbad the Sailor, two books
which David owned. He read these books through at
David's house, besides studying the laws of Indiana
quite thoroughly. To him the Statutes were by no
means dry, as they would have been to most of his
companions ; for they opened a new and wide field of
research to his inquiring mind. Without doubt, the
influence of that study upon his future career was
marked. It began to be seen very soon ; for, one day,
he said to David, —
" I'm going to Booneville to court ; won't you go
with me?"
" Going to be tried for your life ? " replied David, in
a vein of humor,
"Going to see how they try other folks for their
lives," answered Abraham. " I never went into a court-
room, and I'm going to before I'm a week older."
"How are you going, Abe ? "
" Going to walk, of course ; not much of a trip
there."
"Well, it may not be much of a walk for your long-
legs, but it's a long one for mine," responded David.
" I think I will be excused till you get to be a lawyer
and have a case at the bar, then I'll walk fifteen miles
to see and hear."
174 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
Abraham walked to Booneville, fifteen miles, to court,
and was doubly paid for his trouble. The novelty and
excitement of the scene captivated him so completely
that' he walked thither, again and again afterwards, to
enjoy the treat. At one time a murder trial was on
the docket, in which one of the best lawyers of the
State was counsel for the defence — John Breckinridge,
Esq. Abraham heard his able and eloquent plea, and
would have sat a week to listen to the speaker. "If I
could ever become such a speaker, I should be perfectly
satisfied," he said within himself. He was so thoroughly
charmed by the speech, that he forgot his usual modesty,
and, at the close of the court, stepped up to Mr. Breck-
inridge and said, —
" That was the best speech I ever heard."
The lawyer looked at the shabby boy, as if surprised
at his boldness ; but did not deign a reply. He passed
on, leaving Abraham to his own reflections. It deserves
to be recorded here, that John Breckinridge met Abra-
ham at Washington when the latter was President.
Breckinridge was a resident of Texas then, and was a
rebel. As he did not know who the shabby boy was
who addressed him at Boonville, he did not know, of
course, that it was he who had become President. But
Lincoln recognized the eloquent pleader of Booneville
at once, and kindly refreshed the rebel's memory.
Breckinridge had applied for executive clemency, and
that Booneville speech became a favorable introduction.
Mr. Lincoln said to him, " It was the best speech that
I ever heard up to that time. If I could, as I then
thought, make as good a speech as that, my soul would
be satisfied."
SUNDRY INCIDENTS. 1 75
Through Abraham's influence a "speaking-meeting,"
or, as we call it now, a lyceum, was started at Gentry-
ville.
" It will be very improving," said Abraham to Nat
Grigsby, "to say nothing about the fun of the thing."
He was making a plea for such an institution.
" If we were all like you, Abe, there would be both
improvement and fun in the thing, but we are not,"
answered Nat. "I'll do what I can, though."
"And that is all any of us can do."
"What will you do at your speaking-meeting?" Nat
continued.
" Speak pieces, discuss questions, and read compo-
sitions," answered Abraham. " We can have real good
times."
" We might if we could all speak and write and argue
as you can," responded Nat. " But most of us will
have to take back seats in such a meeting, I tell you.
But I go in for it."
All the young people favored the enterprise finally,
and not a few of the older ones. It started with flying
colors, and Abraham was in his element. The pieces
he had committed to memory as a pastime now served
him a good purpose, and, more than ever, the people
extolled him. Old Mr. Gentry said, " Abe will make
a great man sure as he lives." One of the enthusiastic
women declared, " He will be President of the United
States yet."
In the discussions, Abraham was logical and witty ;
and every body was on the alert to hear him speak.
Among the questions discussed were, " Which is the
stronger, wind or water?" and "Which has the most
176 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
right to complain, the negro or the Indian?" Abra-
ham had picked up much information concerning
wind and water, so that he was not at all limited for
materials in the discussion. On the other question he
had very definite views of his own, and not a little in-
formation collected from here and there. He hated
Indians out of respect to his ancestors, if for no other
reason ; still, he considered them an abused race. But
he spoke for the negro in that debate, and made his
first public plea for the enslaved, at that time, on the
free soil of Indiana.
That Abraham did not improve in his personal ap-
pearance, as he did in knowledge, is evident from a
remark of Miss Roby, when he went to live with Mr.
Gentry. She said, " Abe was then a long, thin, leggy,
gawky boy, dried up and shrivelled." He appeared to
be much older than he was. Caring little or nothing
for dress, he continued to wear apparel of the genuine
pioneer pattern, which made his homeliness more
homely. A remark of Dennis, on one occasion, was
quite expressive : " Abe has too much legs to be hand-
some ; " and it was true.
Still, he was the centre of attraction in all circles.
Men, women and children loved to hear him talk.
They would gather about him to listen, whether in
house or field. He continued to improve, too, in this
regard. Nat Grigsby says : —
" When he appeared in company, the boys would
gather and cluster around him to hear him talk. He
was figurative in his speeches, talks, and conversations.
He argued much from analogy, and explained things
hard for us to understand by stories, maxims, tales,
SUNDRY INCIDENTS. 177
and figures. He would almost always point his lesson
or idea by some story that was plain and near us, that
we might instantly see the force and bearing of what
he said."
Later, Nat Grigsby and his brother were married at
the same time, and brought their wives home to theif
father's cabin. They had a grand reception for pio-
neer life, but, in consequence of some pique, did
not invite Abraham, who felt the slight keenly. In
his chagrin, he wrote a piece of poetry, which he
called "The Chronicles of Reuben," (Reuben was the
name of one of the Grigsby brothers,) and dropped
it in the road where he was quite sure it would fall
into their hands. It was a very sarcastic production,
and caused quite a sensation, not only in the family,
but also in the neighborhood. It was a thoughtless
act of Abraham, which he regretted afterwards ; and
the whole affair was subsequently settled on a lasting
basis. Nat Grigsby wrote, after Abraham was dis-
tinguished in public life : —
" Lincoln did write what is called the * Chronicles
of Reuben ' — a satire on the Grigsbys and Josiah
Crawford, — not the school-master, but the man who
lent Lincoln 'The Life of Washington.' The satire
was good, sharp, cutting ; it hurt us then, but it is all
over now. There is no family in the land who, after
this, loved Abe so well, and who now look upon him
as so great a man. We all voted for him, — all that
could, — children and grandchildren, first, last, and
always."
Dennis Hanks, who ought to know more about
Abraham, from fourteen to eighteen years of age, than
178 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
any of his companions, has so characteristically de<
scribed his way of learning and making progress, that
we quote his description here : —
" He learned by sight, scent and hearing. He heard
all that was said, and talked over and over the ques-
tions heard ; wore them slick, greasy and threadbare.
He went to political and other speeches and gather-
ings ; he would hear all sides and opinions, talk them
over and discuss thenl, agreeing or disagreeing. Abe,
as I said before, was originally a Democrat after the
order of Jackson, so was his father, so we all were.
He preached, made speeches, read for us, explained to
us, etc. . . . Abe was a cheerful boy, a witty boy, was
humorous always ; sometimes would get sad, not very
often. . . . He would frequently make political and
other speeches to the boys ; he was calm, logical and
clear always. He attended trials, went to court always,
read the Revised Statutes of Indiana, dated 1827,
heard law speeches, and listened to law trials, etc. He
was always reading, scribbling, writing, ciphering,
writing poetry, and the like. ... In Gentryville, about
one mile west of Thomas Lincoln's farm, Lincoln
would go and tell his jokes and stories, and was
so odd, original, humorous and witty, that all the
people in town would gather around him. He would
keep them there till midnight. Abe was a good talker,
a good reader, and was a kind of newsboy."
In consequence of the prevalence of the milk-disease,
from time to time, the Lincolns discussed the subject
of removal to Illinois. John Hanks had gone thither,
and sent back favorable reports of the country. John
returned to Kentucky after residing with the Lincolns
SUNDRY INCIDENTS. 1 79
four years, as we have said before, and afterward re-
moved to Illinois. It was natural, therefore, when the
question of escaping from the dreaded milk-disease was
raised, to turn towards that State. The next chapter
will furnish an account of the removal.
CHAPTER XIV.
OFF TO ILLINOIS.
[EFORE the ist of January, 1830, Mr. Lin-
coln decided to remove to Illinois. Dennis
Hanks and Levi Hall, who had married
Mrs. Lincoln's daughters, concluded to re-
move, also, with their families. Dennis had made a
flying visit thither, after he had recovered from a
severe attack of the milk-disease, and returned with
marvellous stories about the country. He went to
visit " Uncle John Hanks," who had settled four miles
from Decatur, in Macon County, On this account,
Mr. Lincoln decided to go directly to " Uncle John's."
He sold his farm to the senior Gentry, and his corn
and hogs to David Turnham. He received ten cents
a bushel for his corn, and sold the hogs for a "song."
He took with him to Illinois " some stock-cattle, one
horse, one bureau, one table, one clothes-chest, one
set of chairs, working utensils, clothing, etc." The
goods belonging to the three families were loaded
upon Mr. Lincoln's wagon, an " ironed " wagon, which
was the first one he ever owned. It was drawn by
four yoke of oxen, two of them Lincoln's and the other
two Hanks's ; and Abraham drove the team. There
OFF TO ILLINOIS. l8l
were thirteen persons in all who went — men, women
and children.
Abraham was twenty-one years of age on the'
twelfth day of February, two or three days before
they started upon their journey.
" You are your own man now," said his father.
" What of that ? " was Abraham's reply, suspecting
what thoughts were in his mind.
" Why, you can go or stay, though I don't see how
I can get along without you."
" Nor I ; and I want to go to Illinois more than you
do, and I shall see you safely there, and settled down,
before I leave you."
" I'm glad of that," continued his father. " I won't
ask you to stay at home one minute after we get set-
tled down. You ought to be looking out for yourself,
now that you are of age."
"We'll talk about that when we get there. Per-
haps I shall find enough to do for a while to get you
fixed up, and I can attend to that better than you
can.
" Well, it's a long ways there, and I'm almost sorry
that I undertook it at my time of life. It looks like a
great job to get there, and begin new."
"It don't to me. We'll be there, and have a roof
over our heads, in less than four weeks."
" If nothing happens, you mean."
" There will something happen, I'm thinking,"
answered Abraham, dryly, "or we shall never get
there."
"What?"
" I expect that it will happen that we shall go there
1 82 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
in about two weeks, by hard travelling. If that don't
happen, I shall be sorry."
"We shall see," added Mr. Lincoln.
The fact was, Abraham thought too much of his
father and mother to leave them to undertake such a
journey alone. No money could have hired him to
leave them before they were settled in Illinois. Mr.
Scripps, who knows all the circumstances well, says :
" He was the only son of his father, now advanced in
years, and it was not in his nature to desert his aged
sire at a time when all the hardships, privations, and
toil of making a new home in a new country were
about to be entered upon. Whatever the future may
have seemed to hold in it, as a reward for effort
specially directed to that end, he cheerfully put aside
in obedience to his sense of duty, and engaged at once
and heartily in the work before him."
The above writer, a Western man himself, describes
the manner of moving in those days, as follows : —
" In those days, when people changed their resi-
dence from one State or settlement to another, they
took all their movable possessions with them, — their
household goods, their kitchen utensils, including pro-
visions for the journey, their farming implements,
their horses and cattle. The former were loaded into
wagons, drawn, for the most part, by oxen; and the
latter were driven by the smaller boys of the family,
who were sometimes assisted by their sisters and
mother. Thus arranged for a journey of weeks, — not
unf requently of months, — the emigrant set out, think-
ing but little of the hardships before him, — of bad
roads, of unbridged streams, of disagreeable weather,
OFF TO ILLINOIS. 1 83
of sleeping on the ground or in the wagon, of sickness,
accidents, and sometimes death by the way, — dwelling
chiefly in thought upon the novelty and excitement of
the trip, the rumored attractions of the new country
whither he was going, and of the probable advantages
likely to result from the change. By ten or fifteen
miles per day, over untravelled roads, now across
mountains, swamps and watercourses, and now through
dense, umbrageous forests, and across broad prairies
where the horizon alone bounded the vision, the cara-
van of wagons, men, women and children, flocks and
herds, toiled onward by day, sleeping under the broad
canopy of stars at night, patiently accomplishing the
destined journey, sometimes of weeks', sometimes of
months' duration."
In this way the Lincoln, Hanks and Hall families
moved to Illinois. The distance was about two hun-
dred miles — not much of an undertaking for the per-
severance and heroism of pioneer families.
The weather proved favorable nearly all the way,
though the roads were excessively muddy. For miles
Abraham walked through mud a foot deep. Often,
for a long distance, he waded in water up to his knees
(and it is well known that his knees were not very low
down). When they had performed nearly one hun-
dred and fifty miles of the journey, they came to the
Kaskaskia River, where they found the bottom lands
overflowed, and the old corduroy road nearly gone,
" We're done to now," said Hanks.
" I don't know about that," answered Abraham.
" Let us see about it."
" It is plain enough to see, I should think. The
1 84 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
man who directed us back there yesterday said, if the
bottom was overflowed, it would be three miles
through water, and I should think it was more than
that."
" I don't care if it's twice three," replied Abraham,
" if it's not too deep to wade."
"We can wait some days for the water to fall, or we
can go up or down the river a few miles,- and possibly
find a better place to cross," suggested Hanks.
" That will take too much time. The water won't
fall yet awhile, It is February yet, you know, and the
rivers are always high. I am for going straight ahead
through thick and thin."
" That's the only way, I think," said Mr. Lincoln,
who had listened to the conversation, while he was
looking rather doubtfully upon the flood of water before
them.
" We can't stay here for the water to fall, that's
certain," continued Abraham, "and as to finding a
better place to cross, I don't believe we can, if we go
around twenty miles."
"And that would take time, too," suggested his
father.
" Yes, and I am for going right along. I will go
forward ; and if I go under, the rest of you may take
warning." This remark was made rather in a strain
of pleasantry, to inspire all hearts around him with
courage. " Come, Dennis, what do you say ? Will
you follow me?"
"Of course ; I can go where you can."
It was settled to go forward, turning neither to the
right hand nor left. And for three miles Abraham
OFF TO ILLINOIS. 1 85
drove his team through water that was up to his waist,
urging his oxen along, and cheering the hearts of the
company with words of encouragement. Mr. Lamon
says, " In crossing the swollen and tumultuous Kas-
kaskia the wagon and oxen were nearly swept away."
But Abraham's pluck and energy overcame the diffi-
culty, and, on the first day of March, 1830, they arrived
at John Hanks' house, four miles northwest of Decatur.
What kind of a cabin Uncle John possessed, we do not
know, but the advent of thirteen visitors must have
fully occupied all the spare room in it. But squeezing
the largest number of persons into the smallest space
was incidental to pioneer life.
" I've fixed on the spot for you to settle," said Uncle
John to Mr. Lincoln, " and there's a lot of logs there for
a cabin, which I cut last year."
"Flow far away is it?" inquired Mr. Lincoln.
" Only a few miles ; and it will be a short job to put
up a cabin, now the logs are all ready ; and you are
welcome to them."
"Well, that is a great lift," replied Mr. Lincoln;
"with the logs all cut, Abe, Dennis, and I will make
short work of building a shelter."
"And my help, too," added Uncle John; "nothing
to do now but to get you fixed."
" I'm going to have a better house than we had in
Indiana," chimed in Abraham, who was listening to the
conversation. " Hewed logs, and less mud."
"I'll second that project," interjected his mother.
" A little more labor and expense upon a habitation
will increase comforts ten-fold."
The subject of a log-house was thus discussed, and
1 86 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
the following day, Mr. Lincoln, Uncle John, Abraham
and Dennis repaired to the location selected, to investi-
gate. It was on the north side of Sangamon River,
about ten miles west of Decatur ; and, perhaps, six
miles, in a straight line, from Uncle John's cabin. All
were delighted with the location, mainly because it was
at the junction of the timber and prairie lands, and
was well supplied with water.
Short work was made in erecting the best log-house
the Lincoln family ever occupied. Abraham took
charge of the work, because he was determined to have
as good a house for his parents as could be built of
logs. There was a good supply of material that Uncle
John had prepared, from which Abraham selected the
best logs, every one of which was carefully hewn, though
the only tools they had to work with was a common axe,
a broad-axe, a hand-saw, and a "drawer-knife."
After the cabin was built, a smoke-house and stable
were erected near by. The doors and floor of the cabin
were made of puncheon, and the gable-ends of the
structure boarded up with plank " rived " by Abraham's
hand out of oak timber. The nails used — and they
were very few — were all brought from their old home
in Indiana.*
"You never saw such land as this," remarked John
Hanks to Mr. Lincoln. "The land in Indiana can't
compare with this prairie land."
" I'm convinced of that," answered Mr. Lincoln ;
" the half wasn't told us. And we must turn over a big
piece of it this spring for corn, and fence it, too. Abe
is great on splitting rails."
* Dr. Holland.
OFF TO ILLINOIS. 1 87
" He can have a chance to split 'em to his heart's
content now," continued John. "It'll take a pile on
'em to fence fifteen acres, and you'll want to put in as
much as that."
" And fifteen acres of such land as this will make
such a corn-field as Indiana farmers are not acquainted
with," added Mr. Lincoln.
"Abe and I can break it up," continued John ; "and
fence it into the bargain."
This was the final decision, after the Lincolns were
settled in their new home — that Abraham and John
should plough the fifteen acres, and then fence the field.
With the four yokes of oxen, each driving two yokes,
the fifteen acres were turned over within a week ; and,
as soon as the planting was done, the rail-splitting and
fencing commenced in earnest. Abraham and John
got out all the rails, and put up the fence around the
fifteen acres. Those rails became historic after thirty
years, and played an important part in an interesting
chapter of our national career, as we shall learn here-
after.
With all his labor at home, Abraham found time to
work out considerably in the neighborhood. Rev. A.
Hale of Springfield, Illinois, visited the locality, after
the death of Abraham Lincoln, and one Mrs. Brown
related the following to him : —
" I remember Mr. Lincoln. He worked for my old
man, and helped make a crap. We lived on the same
farm we live on now, and he worked and made a crap,
and the next winter they hauled the crap all the way
to Galena, and sold it. At that time there was no
public-houses, and travellers were obliged to stay at
185 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
. , — _ <
any house along the road that could take them in.
One evening a right smart-looking man rode up to the
fence, and asked my old man if he could get to stay
over night. ' Well,' said Mr. Brown, ' we can feed
your crittur, and give you something to eat, but we
can't lodge you unless you can sleep on the bed with
the hired man.' The man hesitated, and asked, ' Where
is he?' 'Well,' said Mr. Brown, 'you can come and
see him.' So the man got down from his crittur, and
Mr. Brown took him around to where, in the shade of
the house, Abe lay his full length on the ground, with
an open book before him. 'There,' said Mr. Brown,
pointing to him, 'he is.' The stranger looked at him
a minute, and said, 'Well, I think he'll do;' and he
stayed and slept with the President of the United
States."
It is claimed that Mrs. Brown was wrong in saying
that Abraham worked for her husband, the fact being
that he worked for one Taylor, near by, and boarded
with her. It is probable, also, that he worked for him
only at such times, during that first summer in Illinois,
as he was not needed at home.
"Abe was the roughest looking fellow I ever saw,"
remarked George Cluse, who worked with him occa-
sionally that year ; " he was so tall, awkward and
wrinkled ! "
" Was he a good worker ? "
" None better to be found ; and he knew more than
any man I ever saw ; but his dress was comical."
" How did he dress?"
" He wore trousers made of flax and tow, cut tight
at the ankles, and out at both knees. I looked bad
OFF TO ILLINOIS. 1 89
enough myself, but compared with him, my dress was
superb." At the time Thomas Lincoln left Indiana,
few families in that part of the country used woollen
goods. They were unknown there until about 1825.
" I split rails with him a good deal," continued
Cluse. " He'd split more rails in a day than any other
man. He was strong as an ox, and never got tired.
He made a bargain that season with Nancy Miller, to
split four hundred rails for every yard of brown jeans,
dyed with white walnut bark, that would be necessary
to make him a pair of trousers ; and that was the way
he got trousers that were not out at the knees."
" What about reading ? Was he fond of books ? "
"When I worked with him, he'd not much chance
to fool with books ; but he was always talking history,
and politics, and great men ; and I have seen him
going to his work with a book in his hand. Then, Abe
walked five, six, and seven miles to his work."
It is quite evident that Abraham made himself ex-
tremely useful in Illinois in the year 1830 by his in-
dustry and hard labor. He made himself very agree-
able, also, by his intelligence and social qualities.
George Cluse says, " He was a welcome guest in every
house in the neighborhood."
In the autumn of that year, fever and ague visited
the region of Decatur, and every member of the Lin-
coln family were attacked by it — not severely, never-
theless with sufficient violence to make them "shake."
Even Abraham's stalwart frame came under its power
for a brief season ; but he shook it off before it had
much of a chance to shake him. The experience, how-
ever, satisfied the family that their location in Illinois
190 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE,
was not favorable to health. And we may state here
as well as anywhere, that, in consequence of the ap-
pearance of this disease, Mr. Lincoln removed subse-
quently to a more favorable locality, and finally settled
in Cole's County, where he died on the 17th of Jan-
uary, 185 1.
The first winter of the Lincolns in Illinois was a
very trying one. It was the winter of the " great
snow," as it was called, when, for weeks, it averaged
three feet deep. Being chiefly dependent upon the
rifle for meat, the severity of the winter interfered
somewhat with their supplies. But for the strength,
endurance, and perseverance of Abraham, their com-
forts would have been abridged much more. His use
of the rifle during that rigorous winter well nigh dis-
proved what one of his early associates writes to us,
viz. : " Abe was not much of a hunter ; we seldom went
hunting together. The time spent by us boys in this
amusement was improved by him in the perusal of
some good book."
CHAPTER XV.
ANOTHER TRIP TO NEW ORLEANS.
ENTON OFFUTT was a trader, residing at
New Salem. Meeting John Hanks, one day,
he said: —
" John ! I want you to take a boat for me
to New Orleans on a trading trip ; you understand the
business." John had some reputation as a waterman.
" I can't do it; don't fancy the bisness."
" Fudge ! you can do it if you only think so. I'll
pay you extra for it. You are the only man who can
do it to suit me."
" I know of a man who can do it for you," said John.
" Abe Lincoln understands it ; and perhaps he'll do it."
"Who's Abe Lincoln?"
" He's a relative of mine ; came to Illinois from
Indiana about one year ago, and settled a few miles
from me."
"Well, I don't know anything about him," continued
Offutt, " and I do know about you. Say you'll go."
"Maybe I'll go if Abe and John Johnston will go."
"And who's John Johnston?"
" He is Abe Lincoln's step-brother, and lives with
him. He came with him from Indiana."
192 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" And you think they are good men for the business ? '
" I know they are ; Abe, especially, can't be beat on
a boat. He's the tallest and strongest chap in Illinois."
" Well, now, John, I'll do most any way to get you to
undertake the trip," continued Offutt ; " and if you'll
see your two friends, and get them to go, I'll see that
they'll make a good thing of it."
" How much pay will you give ?"
" I'll give you — all three of you — fifty cents a day ;
and, at the end of the trip, I will divide sixty dollars,
in addition, equally between you."
" That's good pay, and no mistake," replied John,
who was rather surprised at the generosity of the offer :
" I think we'll be able to arrange it."
Offutt was a man of considerable property for that
region, and he was generous, too, some said " too
generous for his own good."
John Hanks lost no time in laying the subject before
Abraham and Johnston.
" I should like the job," Abraham replied at once.
"That is larger pay than I ever had, and I rather like
the business."
"I can't say that I like the business," said Hanks;
"but I think I'll accept this offer. Offutt is a capital
fellow, and I would go on such a trip for him a little
quicker than I would for anybody else."
"Agreed," was John Johnston's laconic way of say-
ing that he would go. The fact was, Offutt had made
them a very generous offer — larger pay than any one
of them had ever received.
It was February, 183 1, when Offutt made the offer;
and, early in March, the fortunate trio left home to
ANOTHER TRIP TO NEW ORLEANS. 193
meet Offutt at Springfield, according to arrangement.
They proceeded down the Sangamon in a canoe to
Jamestown (then known as Judy's Ferry) five miles
east of Springfield. Thence they walked to Spring-
field, where they met Offutt at " Elliott's Tavern."
Offutt met Abraham with a look of surprise. He was
not expecting to see a giant, although Hanks told him
that his relative was the tallest man in Illinois ; nor
was he expecting to see a man as green as he was tall.
However, they were soon on the best of terms, and
Offutt said: —
" I've been badly disappointed ; expected a boat built
by this time, at the mouth of Spring Creek, but I
learned yesterday that it wan't touched ; and now what's
to be done? "
" Build a boat at once," answered Abraham, with a
promptness that won Offutt's heart.
"Can you build a boat?" asked Offutt.
"Of course I can," replied Abraham. "We three
can put the job through in three weeks."
"We'll have the boat, then, in short order," responded
Offutt. " Plenty of timber at Spring Creek, and we
can raft it down to Sangamontown, and build the boat
there."
They repaired to Spring Creek, and spent about two
weeks there cutting timber "on Congress land," board-
ing a full mile from their work. While there, Abraham
walked back to Judy's Ferry, ten miles distant, and
brought down the canoe which they had left there.
The timber was rafted down to Sangamontown, where
Abraham and his two companions erected a shanty for
temporary shelter. Here they boarded themselves,
194 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
Abraham playing the part of "cook" to the entire
satisfaction of the two Johns. The lumber was sawed
at Kilpatrick's mill, one mile and a half distant. With
all these inconveniences, the boat was ready for the
trip within four weeks, and a very substantial boat it
was.
Offutt joined the party at Sangamontown, and was
present during the construction of the boat. He soon
learned that the long, tall, and green Abraham was a
young man of rare talents. Offutt was a Whig, and so
was Abraham now, although the latter was not willing
to hear the former abuse Jackson. Offutt indulged his
pique in this line, and Abraham met him squarely, and
hot discussions followed, enlivening the camp and
making merry times. Offutt was quite a politician, but
Abraham was more than a match for him. His famil-
iarity with the lives of a few of the great men of the
country, and the habits, customs and principles of their
times, gave him a decided advantage over Offutt. Abra-
ham often contributed to the merriment of the camp
by reciting "prose-like orations " and quoting poetry.
He also extracted a large amount of fun out of his
new occupation — that of "cook." On the whole, the
two weeks at boat-building were merry ones, and they
quickly sped.
While the little company were employed at Sanga-
montown, a juggler gave an exhibition in the upper
room of John Carman's house. Another says : "Abe
went to it dressed in a suit of rough bluejeans. He
had on shoes, but the trousers did not reach them by
about twelve inches ; and the naked shin, which had
excited John Romine's laughter years ago in Indiana,
ANOTHER TRIP TO NEW ORLEANS. 195
was still exposed. Between the roundabout and the
waist of the trousers there was another wide space un-
covered ; and, considering these defects, his attire was
thought to be somewhat inelegant, even in those
times. His hat, however, was a great improvement
on coon skins and opossum. It was woollen, broad-
brimmed and low-crowned. In his hat 'the showman
cooked eggs.' Whilst Abe was handing it up to him,
after the man had long sought for a similar favor from
the rest of the audience, he remarked, 'Mister, the
reason I didn't give you my hat before was out of re-
spect to your eggs, not care for my hat.' '
As soon as the boat was completed, a partial cargo
of barrel-pork, hogs and corn was taken on board, and
the craft started down the river. Offutt went in the
capacity of merchant, to make purchases along the
way. Just below New Salem, of which we shall hear
and see much hereafter, the boat stuck fast on Rut-
ledge's dam through one night and part of a day— *
" one end of it hanging over the dam and the other
sunk deep in the water behind."
" A pretty fix now," cried out Offutt ; " it will take
longer to get out of this scrape than it did to build the
boat."
"Guess not," replied Abraham, who took in the
situation at a glance. " We must unload, though."
"Into the river, I s'pose," responded Offutt.
" Borrow a boat, and transfer the cargo to it, and iet
us see what can be done," continued Abraham.
This was in the morning, after the boat had " stuck "
through the night. Nearly all the people of New
Salem had assembled on shore watching the move-
ments.
196 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" Your boat will sink or break in two pieces, if you
are not in a hurry," cried out a looker-on. And such
a result seemed inevitable. For the cargo was sliding
backwards, and the peril increased with every passing
minute. But, under Abraham's direction, the cargo
was soon shifted to a borrowed boat, when he imme-
diately bored a large hole in the bottom of that part of
the boat extending over the dam. Then he erected
"queer machinery" for tilting the part of the boat
under water, and holding it in position until the water
was emptied through the hole bored. Stopping up the
hole after the water had run out was the work of only
a few minutes, when the relieved craft was pushed
over the dam, and glided into the deep pool below
amidst the hurrahs of the many beholders. Offutt
was particularly elated.
" That's real skill, Abe," he cried ; " one in a thou-
sand couldn't do that. Three cheers for Abe Lin-
coln," he shouted, swinging his hat, and leading the
cheers vociferously.
It was a hearty tribute to Abraham's ingenuity in
which the observers joined without reserve.
"When I get back from New Orleans," shouted
Offutt, turning to the beholders on shore, " I'll build a
steamboat to navigate the Sangamon River, and make
Abe captain. I'll build it with runners for ice and
rollers for shoals and dams, and, by thunder, it will
have to go, with Abe for captain."
This funny way of putting it awoke another burst
of applause from the spectators, while the tall, awk-
ward Abraham shook his sides with laughter.
This mishap to their craft set Abraham to thinking
ANOTHER TRIP TO NEW ORLEANS. 197
of ways to overcome the difficulties of navigating
Western rivers. It was several years, however, before
his thoughts and studies thereupon took tangible
shape in the form of an invention. After he was
elected President, the Washington correspondent of
the Boston Advertiser wrote as follows concerning
it: —
" Occupying an ordinary and common-place position in one of
the show cases in the large hall of the Patent Office is one little
model which, in ages to come, will be prized as at once one of
the most curious and one of the most sacred relics in that vast
museum of unique and priceless things. This is a plain and
simple model of a steamboat, roughly fashioned in wood, by the
hand of Abraham Lincoln. It bears date in 1849, when the
inventor was known simply as a successful lawyer and rising
politician of Central Illinois. Neither his practice nor his poli-
tics took up so much of his time as to prevent him from giving
much attention to contrivances which he hoped might be of
benefit to the world and of profit to himself.
" The design of this invention is suggestive of one phase of
Abraham Lincoln's early life, when he went up and down the
Mississippi as a flat-boatman, and became familiar with some of
the dangers and inconveniences attending the navigation of the
Western rivers. It is an attempt to make it an easy matter to
transport vessels over shoals and snags and sawyers. The main
idea is that of an apparatus resembling a noiseless bellows placed
on each side of the hull of the craft, just below the water-line,
and worked by an odd but not complicated system of ropes,
valves and pulleys. When the keel of the vessel grates against
the sand or obstruction, these bellows are to be filled with air .
and thus buoyed up, the ship is expected to float lightly and
gayly over the shoal which would otherwise have proved a serious
interruption to her voyage.
" The model, which is about eighteen or twenty inches long,
and has the air of being whittled with a knife out of a shingle
and a cigar-box, is built without any elaboration or ornament, of
198 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
any extra apparatus beyond that necessary to show the operation
of buoying the steamer over the obstructions. Herein it differs
from very many of the models which share with it the shelter of
the immense halls of the Patent Office, and which are fashioned
with wonderful nicety and exquisite finish, as if much of the
labor and thought and affection of a lifetime had been devoted to
their construction. This is a model of a different kind ; carved
as one might imagine a retired rail-splitter would whittle, strongly,
but not smoothly, and evidently made with a view solely to con-
vey, by the simplest possible means, to the minds of the patent
authorities, an idea of the purpose and plan of the simple inven-
tion. The label on the steamer's deck informs us that the patent
was obtained ; but we do not learn that the navigation of the
Western rivers was revolutionized by this quaint conception.
The modest little model has reposed here sixteen years ; and,
since it found its resting-place here on the shelf, the shrewd in-
ventor has found it his task to guide the Ship of State over
shoals more perilous, and obstructions more obstinate, than any
prophet dreamed of when Abraham Lincoln wrote his bold auto-
graph on the prow of this miniature steamer."
When the boat was safely over the dam, in the
deep pool below, it was re-loaded, and then sped on
its way. At Salt Creek, Offutt stopped to make a
purchase of live hogs, but the wild vicious animals
were determined not to go on board ; and they were
full of fight. Once on board, they might make fearful
war upon each other, causing much trouble to the
trader and his crew. After vainly trying to drive the
hogs towards the river, Abraham remarked : —
" It's no use ; they are too ugly to go where you
want them to go."
" They wouldn't be hogs, if they did," responded
Offutt. " You'll have to get up some sort of a tack-
ling, Abe, to get them aboard, as you got the boat
ANOTHER TRIP TO NEW ORLEANS. 199
over the dam." The last remark was made partly in
praise of Abraham, and partly in a vein of humor.
" Sew up their eyes and tie their legs," exclaimed
Abraham ; " there's no other way to get them aboard
and keep them still after they get there."
"That's it, exactly, Abe," replied Offutt; "I knew
that you could find a way out of the trouble. Let's
see you put your theory in practice."
Abraham seized a hog by the ears, and directed
Hanks to hold him by the tail, while Offutt should tie
his legs and sew up his eyelids. " If he fights, he
must fight in the dark," he added.
The experiment proved successful ; and the hogs
were loaded into a cart and drawn to the river,
where Abraham took them up in his long arms, one
by one, and carried them aboard.
" Rather cruel," he said, " but there's no help for it.
In a battle with wild hogs we must use war-tactics."
"You're a genius, Abe," said Offutt; "ugly hogs
and dams and shoals are of little account to you."
Before leaving Salt Creek, Abraham rigged up
"curious-looking sails," with plank and cloth to in-
crease their speed. The device accomplished his
purpose; but it "was a sight to behold," as one re™
liable witness declared. When they " rushed down
through Beardstown," the craft presented such a comi-
cal appearance that " the people came out and laughed
at them."
"Let them laugh and take it out in laughing, so
long as the thing works well," said Abraham, rather
enjoying the singular exhibition because it attracted
attention.
200 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
They stopped only at Memphis, Vicksburg and
Natchez, after leaving Salt Creek, during the whole
distance to New Orleans, where they arrived without
another drawback. Offutt disposed of his goods
readily, and made a very profitable trip of it. At the
same time, he obtained such an insight into Abra-
ham's character and abilities that he resolved to make
the best use of him possible in future.
" Inhuman," exclaimed Abraham, one day, when
they saw a gang of slaves chained together, and a
merciless driver cracking his whip about their heads.
"A nation that tolerates such inhumanity will have to
pay for it some day."
"They are used to it," replied Offutt, "and mind
no more about it than cattle."
"What if they don't?" retorted Abraham. "You
can't make cattle of men without being inhuman.
I tell you, the nation that does it will be cursed."
"Not in our day," remarked Offutt.
"In somebody's day, though," responded Abraham,
promptly.
That Abraham's visits to New Orleans served to
increase his hostility to slavery, there can be no
doubt, especially his visit in 183 1. For John Hanks
said, thirty years afterwards, recalling the incidents
of that memorable trip: —
"There it was we saw negroes chained, maltreated,
whipped and scourged. Lincoln saw it, and his heart
bled. It made him sad, he looked bad, felt bad, was
thoughtful and abstracted. I can say, knowing it,
that it was on this trip that he formed his opinions of
slavery. It ran its iron into him then and there,—
ANOTHER TRIP TO NEW ORLEANS. 201
May, 1 83 1. I have heard him say so, often and
often."
Providence was leading Abraham in a way that
he knew not, disciplining him for the day when he
would be forced to grapple with the system of Amer-
ican slavery, to overthrow it. All such incidents as
these become more interesting and important in
their providential connection with his future public
career.
In June, Offutt, with his men, was ready to return,
and he engaged passage for all on a steamer up the
Mississippi to St. Louis. On the way up the river,
Offutt surprised Abraham by saying :
"Abe, I think you can sell goods for me; how
would you like it ?"
"What kind of goods?" Abraham asked.
"Store goods, such as country stores keep," Offutt
answered. "How would you like to run my store at
New Salem?"
"I should like it well enough provided I could
do it."
"You can do it well enough ; I have no fear of that.
If you'll say the word, I will put you in charge of my
store at New Salem."
"I'll say the word, then," continued Abraham, "if
we can agree on the terms."
They did agree upon the terms, and, before they
parted company at St. Louis, it was arranged to trans-
form Abraham into a "storekeeper." Offutt had so
exalted an idea of Abraham's tact and ability, that he
was prepared to commit almost any trust to his
keeping. Abraham was to return home, visit his
202 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
parents, and then repair to New Salem to be in-
stalled over a country store.
At St. Louis, Offutt's business made it necessary for
him to separate from his efficient trio ; so Abraham,
Hanks, and Johnston started on foot for the interior of
Illinois. When they reached Edwardsville, twenty-
five miles from St. Louis, Hanks took the road to
Springfield, and Abraham and Johnston took that to
Cole's County, whither Thomas Lincoln removed after
Abraham left home.
A few days after Abraham reached his father's
house in Cole's County, a famous wrestler, by the
name of Daniel Needham, called to see him. Need-
ham had heard of Abraham's great strength, and
that he was an expert wrestler, and he desired to
see him.
" S'pose we try a hug," suggested Needham.
" No doubt you can throw me," answered Abraham.
•' You are in practice, and I am not."
"Then you'll not try it?" continued Needham.
" Not much sport in being laid on my back," was
Abraham's evasive answer.
" It remains to be seen who will lay on his back,"
suggested Needham. "S'pose you make the trial." •
By persistent urging Abraham finally consented to
meet Needham, at a specified place and time, according
to the custom that prevailed. Abraham was true to
his promise, met the bully, and threw him twice with
no great difficulty.
Needham was both disappointed and chagrined. His
pride was greatly humbled ; and his wrath was not a
little exercised.
ANOTHER TRIP TO NEW ORLEANS. 203
" You have thrown me twice, Lincoln, but you can't
whip me," he said.
"I don't want to whip you, whether I can or not,"
Abraham replied magnanimously ; " and I don't want
to get whipped;" and the closing sentence was spoken
jocosely.
"Well, I stump you to whip me," Needham cried,
thinking that Lincoln was unwilling to undertake it.
" Throwing a man is one thing and thrashing him is
another."
"You are right, my friend ; and I've no special desire
to do either," answered Abraham.
Needham continued to press him, whereupon Lincoln
said :
" Needham, are you satisfied that I can throw you ?
ii you are not, and must be convinced through a thrash-
ing, I will do that, too, for your sake."
This was putting the matter practically enough to
open the bully's eyes, which was all Abraham hoped to
accomplish. He was willing to show his strength by
wrestling to please his companions and get a little sport
out of it ; but he despised a bully like Needham, and
considered such encounters for any purpose but sport
as beneath his notice. Needham put the proper inter-
pretation upon Abraham's words, and, considering
" discretion the better part of valor," he withdrew as
gracefully as possible.
We shall turn next to Abraham's success as a coun-
try merchant.
CHAPTER XVI.
IN A PIONEER STORE.
|BOUT the first of August, 1831, Abraham
met Offutt at New Salem as previously ar-
ranged. His employer had collected a
quantity of goods at Beardstown, awaiting
transportation. Until the goods arrived, Abraham had
nothing to do, but loitered about the town, then num-
bering only from twelve to fifteen habitations. Some
of the people recognized him as the ingenious fellow
who engineered the boat over Rutledge's dam a few
months before ; and they scraped acquaintance with
him at once.
On the day of the election he was loitering about
the polling place, when one of the judges remarked to
Minter Graham, the schoolmaster, "We are short of a
clerk ; what shall we do ? "
The schoolmaster replied, " Perhaps the tall stranger
yonder can write ; and maybe he will serve in that
capacity."
"Possibly," responded the judge, as he advanced
towards Abraham, and said : —
" Can you write ? " It must be remembered that, at
that time in that region, many people could neither
IN A PIONEER STORE. 205
read nor write, so that getting a clerk was not an easy
matter.
" Yes, a little," answered Abraham.
"Will you act as clerk of the election to-day?"
" Yes, I'll try," was Abraham's modest reply. " I
will do the best I can, if you so request."
"Well, it will accommodate us very much if you
will," continued the judge, conducting the stranger to
the polls. As yet, Abraham had not announced to any
one that he was soon to preside over the store of New
Salem.
That he discharged the duties of the office accept-
ably on that day, we have positive evidence ; for Min-
ter Graham, the schoolmaster, who was clerk also,
says : —
" He performed the duties with great facility, much
fairness and honesty and impartiality. This was -the
first official act of his life. I clerked with him on the
same day, and at the same polls. The election-books
are now in the city of Springfield, Illinois, where they
can be seen and inspected any day."
Dr. Nelson of New Salem was about to remove to
Texas, and had built a flat-boat on which to convey
his goods and family thither. He was ready to start
when Abraham was waiting for the arrival of Offutt's
merchandize. The Sangamon river was at best a tur-
bulent stream, and was then swollen to overflowing,
so that the doctor required a pilot to Beardstown.
Some one suggested to him the young fellow who took
the boat over Rutledge's dam ; and Abraham was ac-
cordingly engaged. He piloted the flat-boat success-
fully to Beardstown, although he said the river over
206 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
flowed its banks so unprecedentedly for that season of
the year, that he sometimes floated over the prairie,
three miles from the channel. At Beardstown he re-
ceived his pay, and left the doctor to run down the
Illinois while he returned on foot to New Salem.
On the arrival of Offutt's merchandize, the inhabi-
tants of the village understood what the tall stranger's
business was in town. For Abraham proceeded at
once to unpack the goods, and arrange them for ex-
hibition in the store. There were groceries, dry goods,
hardwares, stonewares, earthenwares, cups and saucers,
plates, knives and forks, boots and shoes, coffee, tea,
sugar, molasses, butter, gunpowder, tobacco, with other
articles too numerous to mention, including the in-
evitable whiskey, which nearly everybody except Abra-
ham considered indispensable.
Within a few days Abraham was well under way
with Offutt's commercial enterprise. The new goods
drew customers, and the new clerk attracted attention.
He was "jokey," agreeable and social, " worth a dozen
such fellers as Offutt's other man," as one of the citi-
zens put it.
Offutt's business elsewhere did not allow him to
remain at New Salem, though he was there long
enough to risk another venture. He leased the mill
of Cameron and Rutledge at the foot of the hill, and
put it in charge of Abraham along with the store. At
the same time he hired William G. Green for assistant
clerk in the store, that Abraham might divide his time
between the two enterprises.
Offutt was a great talker, and some people said he
was " rattle-brained" and "harum-scarum." But no
IN A PIONEER STORE. 20?
one claimed that Abraham was like him, not even
Offutt himself, for the latter was wont to magnify the
abilities and fidelity of his clerk extravagantly. His
confidence in him was well-nigh boundless, and he
drew largely upon the dictionary for words to express
his admiration of the new storekeeper. He did not
hesitate to say, " Abe knows more than any man in
the United States." If confronted by any one who
dared to dispute his assertion, he would supplement
his statement by another : " Abe will be President of
the United States some time. Now remember what
I say." Between engineering the boat over Rutledge's
dam and the eulogiums of Offutt, Abraham was quite
grandly introduced to the inhabitants of New Salem.
It is not strange that he entered upon his labors there
with flying colors, causing the store to become the
centre of attraction in that township. New customers
were multiplied, and old ones became even more
reliable patrons.
Then, in Illinois, the merchant of the town was
second to no citizen in importance. Abraham stepped
at once into this position of notoriety ; and then, in
addition, his knowledge, affability, and uprightness,
contributed to make him a still more important per-
sonage.
"The best feller we've had in the store yet,"
remarked Jason Duncan to a companion named
Carman ; "and he knows a thing or two."
"Not so much as Offutt thinks he does," replied
Carman ; "but it's fun to hear him talk."
."And he is so accommodating and honest;" con-
tinued Duncan. " Mother says she'd trust him with
208 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
■ i
anything because he's so honest. She paid him a few
cents too much, and he brought it back to her."
"Not many on 'em who'd do that," replied Carman.
" Every body says that he gives Scriptur' weight and
measure."
"And he is none of your high-fly gentry," added
Duncan, "if he does keep store. He knows more in
half an hour than Offutt's other man did in a week."
"Yes, and he's drawing customers that haven't
traded there before, just because he does the thing
that is right. Everybody knows that he won't lie nor
cheat ; and they believe just what he says, and they
like to trade with him on that account."
" Off utt was a fortunate man to get him to keep his
store," continued Duncan. "It will be money in his
pocket."
"And he seems to attend to the business just as
closely as he would if it was his own," said Carman ;
" he is there early and late, and he is always reading
when he has nothing else to do."
"That's because he is honest," replied William;
"a dishonest clerk wouldn't care whether the busi-
ness prospered or not, nor whether people were
pleased or not. Offutt is off so much that he would
not know whether a clerk was faithful or not, and
it's lucky for him that he hit upon Abe as he did."
"And it's about as lucky for us. I tell you how
'tis : that store is now just about the best place to
go to that there is anywhere about. Abe is the
greatest fellow on stories that I ever heard, and
many of them are real facts of histry. You ought to
hear him tell about Washington and Franklin and
IN A PIONEER STORE. 20$
Clay, as he did the other day. He knows a heap
more about such things than any body about here."
Two or three incidents in this place will show what
reason existed for such discussions as the foregoing
concerning Abraham.
One day he sold a bill of goods to Mrs. Duncan,
amounting to two dollars and six cents. On running
over his account again in the evening, he found that
Mrs. Duncan paid him six cents too much. Imme-
diately on closing the store and locking the door for
the night, he started for Mrs. Duncan's house, more
than two miles away, to carry the six cents to her.
He slept better that night for the walk and honesty.
On another occasion a woman came into the store
late in the evening, just as he was closing, for half a
pound of tea. The tea was weighed and delivered, and
he left for the night. On returning in the morning he
noticed a four-ounce weight was on the scales, instead
of an eight-ounce ; and he knew at once that he had
given the customer a quarter of a pound of tea, instead
of a half pound. He weighed another quarter of a
pound, closed the store, and delivered the tea to the
woman, before commencing the labors of the day.
Such acts of uprightness won universal confidence ;
and they formed the subject of conversation in many
social gatherings.
One day a bully entered the store when Abraham
was waiting upon two or three female customers. He
belched out profanity and vulgarity, regardless of the
presence of ladies. Abraham leaned over the counter,
and whispered, " Shut up ; don't talk so in the pres<
ence of ladies."
210 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
The fellow was too full of whiskey to be suppressed
in that way, and he became more profane and vulgar
than before.
"I'd like to see the man who'll stop me from saying
what I'm a mind to. I've wanted to thrash you for a
long time."
Abraham simply replied, " Wait until these ladies
have gone, and I'll satisfy you."
The bully was raving ; and the ladies soon retired.
" Now," exclaimed Abraham, springing over the
counter, "we'll see whether you'll talk such stuff in
this store before ladies."
" Come on, long-legs," the bully shouted.
" If you must be whipped, I may as well do it as any
other man," continued Abraham, as he collared the
fellow, and put him out of doors. The bully grappled
with him, whereupon Abraham threw him upon his
back, and, snatching a handful of smart -weed, rubbed
it into his face until the fellow bellowed with pain, and
promised to behave. Then Abraham allowed him to
get up ; and showed his real kindness of heart by get-
ting water and washing his face, to relieve him of his
distress. The outcome of this affair was, that the bully
was a better man himself from that time, and be-
came a fast friend of Abraham, who was as much of a
stickler for politeness to ladies as he was for honesty
to all.
Minter Graham, the schoolmaster, was very intimate
with Abraham. He was in the store one day when
Abraham said to. him :
" I want to study English grammar; I never did."
"You've not much time for it, I judge," replied
IN A PIONEER STORE. 211
•Graham. " Between mill and store, your time is pretty
well occupied."
" Well, I have some leisure moments on some days,
and can always find time at night when folks are in
bed."
" You propose to turn night into day?" responded
Graham, inquiringly. "Too much of such business
will wear you out?"
" I'll risk it if I can get a grammar," replied Abra-
ham. " The trouble is to find a grammar about here."
" I know where there is one," said Graham.
"Where?"
" Six miles from here, at Vaner's, is a copy of Kirk-
ham's Grammar."
" I'll buy or borrow it before I'm much older," re-
marked Abraham. "The time may come when I may
want to use it."
" If you ever expect to go before the public in any
capacity, it will be a good thing for you," responded
Graham. At this time, Graham had inferred from
certain remarks of Abraham that he was looking for-
ward to a more public career.
The result of this interview was, that, Abraham
walked six miles and borrowed the grammar, the study
of which he commenced at once, improving leisure
moments in the store, and sitting up late at night to
pursue his task.
The grammar rather interfered with the good time
young men had with Abraham in the store. Instead
of spending leisure moments in entertaining the com-
pany, Kirkham's Grammar entertained him. Lamon
says, " Sometimes when business was not particularly
212 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
brisk, he would lie under a shade-tree in front of the
store, and pore over the book ; at other times, a cus-
tomer would find him stretched on the counter intently
engaged the same way. But the store was a bad place
for study ; and he was often seen quietly slipping out
of the village, as if he wished to avoid observation,
when, if successful in getting off alone, he would spend
hours in the woods, ' mastering a book,' or in a state
of profound abstraction. He kept up his old habit of
sitting up late at night ; but, as lights were as neces-
sary to his purpose as they were expensive, the village
cooper permitted him to sit in his shop, where he
burnt the shavings, and kept a blazing fire to read by,
when every one else was in bed. The Greens lent him
books ; the schoolmaster gave him instructions in the
store, on the road, or in the meadows ; every visitor to
New Salem who made the least pretensions to scholar-
ship was waylaid by Abe, and required to explain
something which he could not understand. The result
of it all was, that the village and the surrounding coun-
try wondered at his growth in knowledge, and he soon
became as famous for the goodness of his understand-
ing as for the muscular power of his body, and the
unfailing humor of his talk."
Kirkham's Grammar appears to have given him a
new impulse after knowledge ; and his companions felt
that they lost considerable enjoyment in consequence.
Some of them had a poor opinion of Kirkham.
" Studying grammar, yet," remarked Alley in a con-
temptuous way.
" Yes ; I want to know something about it. I never
did."
IN A PIONEER STORE. 21$
"Nor I, and that ain't the worst on't;" and Alley
laughed as he said it.
"Well, I intend to know a little of it," added Abra-
ham. " It is rather dry, but I am determined to master
it, if I can. I want, at least, to discover whether I am
a common noun or not."
"You're an uncommon noun, Abe," said Alley,
meaning to compliment his friend, at the same time
that he got off a pun.
" Your word for it."
" Of course, my word for it. But I am quite sure
that if there is anything in that book, you will get it
out."
" But really, Alley, this is a very important study,
and I think that every one ought to understand it, if
they can."
" Not many know anything about it."
" And that does not prove that it is useless. There
are a great many things of importance that many
people know nothing about."
" That's so ; but most people have got along without
it. My father and mother never studied it in their
lives, and I never did, and we've got along well enough
so far without it."
" Perhaps you would have got along better with it.
Tve learned enough already to be of great service to
me, and I intend to know more yet."
"But it is only a little time that you get here," sug-
gested Alley. "Just as you get at it somebody comes.
I don't think much of that."
"We don't all think alike," responded Abraham.
"That's a fact; I'm pretty sure that if you thought
214 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
as I do, you wouldn't be troubling your brains over
that grammar."
" Perhaps nobody else would, and the 'King's Eng-
lish' would be shockingly murdered. We should
have another Babel almost."
" How's that ? For the life of me, I can't see any
particular good that comes of studying grammar."
"That is because you do not know even the defini-
tion of it," replied Abraham. "Grammar is the art
of speaking and writing the English language with
propriety. And that shows what good it does."
" Perhaps it does."
" Of course it does, whether you can see it or not ;
and I am willing to study for it by day and night."
" I should think it was about enough to study by
day, and let the nights go," said Alley, demurely.
"There is where we don't think alike again. It
would take me a long time to master this grammar,
if I should study only by leisure moments in the
daytime. I have used up from two to three hours
over it every night."
"Just like you, Abe."
"Just like every poor fellow like me, who must do
so, or know little or nothing. Dr. Franklin carried a
book in his pocket, to study when he could, and he
kept one by his side in the printing-office to read
every minute he had to spare."
"How do you know that? Were you there ? " and
Alley's roguishness appeared in his expressive eye.
"Probably," answered Abraham, in the same vein
of remark.
" But did you ever read the Life of Dr. Franklin ? "
IN A PIONEER STORE. 21$
"Certainly, several years ago ; and if he had not
done just what you think is quite foolish, he would
have made candles all his life."
"And that would be shedding light on the world,
I'm sure," said Alley, with an attempt at punning.
"Lucky that somebody was willing to make candles."
But no bantering or pleas for sport could separate
Abraham from his grammar. Kirkham was his boon
companion in a more important sense than Green,
Duncan, Alley, Carman, Herndon, and all the rest of
the New Salem associates.
It became customary for the citizens to take their
visitors over to Offutt's store to introduce them to
Abraham, of whom the whole village were proud.
Richard Yates came to town to visit friends, and they
took him over to the store to make Abraham's
acquaintance. This was the Richard Yates, who,
subsequently, became famous as a public man. He
became Governor of Illinois when Abraham became
President of the United States, and did noble service
for the country in conquering the "Southern Re-
bellion." Abraham was soon engaged in close con-
versation upon various subjects, and while they were
talking, Alley and Yates' friend left.
The dinner-time arrived before they were aware
that nearly an hour had passed since they were in-
troduced to each other. Abraham invited his new
acquaintance to dine with him, and they proceeded
to the house where he boarded — a low, rough, log-
house.
" Aunt Lizzie," said Abraham, " I have brought
some company home to dinner."
2l6 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" I'm glad of it, Abe, if you'll take me as you find
me," replied the old lady, addressing her remark
partly to Abraham, and partly to the visitor.
" No apologies are necessary," said Yates.
" No, none at all," added Abraham.
The dinner was on the table, and it was a very
plain one. There was plenty of bread, and milk
enough for the company, and the addition of an-
other bowl and spoon provided a dinner for visitor
and all.
There were quite a number of members of the family,
boarders and children, and the aged matron waited
upon the table, pouring the milk, and passing a
brimming bowl to each. When Abraham was waited
upon, by some mishap, his bowl slipped and rolled
over upon the floor, dashing it to pieces, and covering
the floor with its contents.
" O dear me!" exclaimed the old lady, in great
trouble ; " that was all my fault."
" Perhaps not," said Abraham.
"It surely was," she answered. "I am so care-
less."
" Well, Aunt Lizzie, we'll not discuss whose fault
it is," continued Abraham ; " only if it don't trouble
you, it don't trouble me."
" That's you, Abe, sure," replied Aunt Lizzie.
"You're ready to comfort a body."
"A very good trait," said Yates, who was both
amused and enlightened by the accident.
" Never mind, Aunt Lizzie," continued Abraham,
" you have the worst of it ; but I am really sorry that
your bowl is broken. I don't care so much for the
IN A PIONEER STORE. 21?
milk, as there is plenty more where that came from.
Much worse things happen sometimes."
By this time Aunt Lizzie had another bowl filled for
Abraham, and the company proceeded to eat their
dinner, while the old lady gathered up the fragments
of the broken bowl, and wiped up the floor.
Here Abraham exhibited a trait of character for
which he was distinguished from boyhood. He dis-
liked to make trouble for any one, and wanted to see
all persons at ease. Hence he was accommodating,
never disposed to find fault, inclined to overlook the
mistakes and foibles of others. Also, his readiness
to assist the needy, and comfort the distressed and
unfortunate, proceeded in part from this quality.
It was made up of gentlemanly bearing, affability,
generosity, and a true regard for the welfare and
happiness of others. A rare character is this, though
it is always needed, and is popular wherever it is
appreciated.
We were absorbed in the discussion of Abraham
and Alley about the grammar, and were inter-
rupted by the arrival of Yates, in consequence of
which the conversation was broken off. We will only
add, that Abraham became a very good grammarian
by dint of perseverance. He did not cast aside the
old grammar until he had mastered it, and it was all
accomplished while he was the most faithful clerk
that the store at New Salem ever had. He found
time enough at odd moments during the day, and
took enough out of his sleeping hours at might,
within the space of a few months, to acquire all the
knowledge of grammar that he ever possessed.
218 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
We should ^say, however, that his companion,
William Green, rendered him assistance in this
study. William had some knowledge of grammar,
and he cheerfully aided Abraham all that he could.
The latter always said that William taught him
grammar, although William still affirms "that he
seemed to master it, as it were, by intuition."
It is probable that Kirkham's Grammar laid the
foundation, in part, of Abraham's future character.
It taught him the rudiments of his native language,
and thus opened the golden gate of knowledge.
There is much in his" experience at this point to
remind us of that of Alexander Murray, the world-
renowned linguist. His father was too poor to send
him to school, or to provide him with books. The
Bible, and a catechism containing the alphabet, were
all the volumes in the family, and the latter Alex-
ander was not allowed to see except on the Sabbath.
During the week his father would draw the letters on
the back of an old wool-card " with the black end of
an extinguished heather-stem or root, snatched from
the fire." In this way he learned the alphabet, and
became a reader. At twelve years of age a friend
presented him with a copy of Salmon's Grammar,
which he mastered in an incredibly short period ; and
here commenced his progress in earnest. He bor-
rowed a Latin grammar and mastered it. Then a
French grammar was studied with success. Then the
Greek was taken in hand, and thus on till all the
Oriental and Northern languages were familiar to
him. And the study of Salmon's Grammar laid the
foundation for all this. That was the key to the vast
IN A PIONEER STORE. 219
treasures of knowledge that were opened before him.
By making himself master of that, he unlocked the
temple of wisdom.
And so the grammar that Abraham studied ex-
erted a great influence upon his character and
destiny.
CHAPTER XVII.
STILL A CLERK.
jHERE was a "gang " of young and middle-
aged men in New Salem, called the " Clary
Grove Boys," who had become a terror to
the people. They were never more flour-
ishing than they were when Abraham became a citizen
of the town. They prided themselves upon their
strength and courage, and had an established custom
of " initiating " new comers of the male sex by giving
them a flogging. Perhaps they were no more ma-
licious than a class of college students who perform
similar operations upon Freshmen, though they were
rougher and more immoral. Such " gangs " existed
in different parts of the West at that time, a coalition
of ignorance, rowdyism and brute force. One writer
says of the " Clary Grove Boys " : —
" Although there never was under the sun a more
generous parcel of ruffians, a stranger's introduction
was likely to be the most unpleasant part of his ac-
quaintance with them. In fact, one of the objects of
their association was to ' initiate or naturalize new-
comers/ as they termed the amiable proceedings
which they took by way of welcoming any one am-
STILL A CLERK. 221
bitious of admittance to the society of New Salem.
They first bantered the gentleman to run a foot-race,
jump, pitch the mall, or wrestle ; and if none of these
propositions seemed agreeable to him, they would re-
quest to know what he would do in case another gen-
tleman should pull his nose or squirt tobacco-juice in
his face. If he did not seem entirely decided in his
views as to what should properly be done in such a
contingency, perhaps he would be nailed in a hogs-
head and rolled clown New Salem hill ; perhaps his
ideas would be brightened by a brief ducking in the
Sangamon ; or perhaps he would be scoffed, kicked
and cuffed by a number of persons in concert, until
he reached the confines of the village, and then turned
adrift as being unfit company for the people of that
settlement. If, however, the stranger consented to
engage in a tussle with one of his persecutors, it was
usually arranged that there should be 'foul play,' with
nameless impositions and insults, which would inevi-
tably change the affair into a fight ; and then if the
subject of all these practices proved to be a man of
mettle, he would be promptly received into their
society, and in all probability would never have better
friends on earth than the roystering fellows who had
contrived his torments."
These " ruffians " had not " initiated " Abraham
for some reason. Perhaps a wholesome recollection
of his strength, courage and tact in engineering the
boat over Rutledge's dam, or the extravagant state-
ments of Offutt concerning his marvellous achieve-
ments, had restrained them. At any rate they did
not molest him, until one day, when Bill Clary had
222 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
a dispute with Offutt in his store, and both became
exasperated. Bill exclaimed :
"Jack Armstrong can lick Abe easy as a boy knows
his father." Jack was the strongest man of the
" gang," and perhaps the most ignorant.
" You don't know what you are talking about, Bill,"
retorted Offutt ; " he could duck the whole Clary
Grove crew in the Sangamon, before Jack Armstrong
could get up after he'd laid him on his back."
" I'll bet ten dollars on that," shouted Bill. " The
fact is, Abe wouldn't dare to risk a fight with Jack."
" The whole of you are blowers and cowards," re-
sponded Offutt, angrily. " There's more in Abe's
little finger than the whole of you have got in your
soul and body."
The knowledge of this hot interview spread like
wildfire, and the " Clary Grove boys " would not con
sent to peace any longer. " Jack Armstrong must
wrestle with Abe," and settle the vital question with
" ruffians." They proposed all sorts of bets, staking
money, whiskey and what not upon the issue.
Soon the proposition from the " Clary Grove Boys "
came direct to Abraham, and he answered :
"I must decline such a trial with Jack."
"Then you are not the man to live in New Salem
longer," shouted one.
" Perhaps not," replied Abraham, with a quizzical
look, as if he meant to say, "that is none of your
business."
" We'll duck you in the Sangamon," exclaimed an-
other.
" Whether you do or not," answered Abe, " I tell
STILL A CLERK. 22$
you that I never tussle and scuffle, and I will not. I
don't like this woolling and pulling."
"Don't, hey!" shouted one of the number, at the
same time pulling Abe's nose.
" Be careful ; not too familiar," said Abraham in a
warning manner.
Thus the provocations were multiplied until Abra-
ham, seeing that the only way of settling the difficulty
was to lay Jack upon his back, consented to wrestling.
They took side holds, and presently Abraham, having
the advantage by reason of his long legs and arms,
lifted Jack completely from the ground, and, swinging
him about, thought to lay him on his back, but Jack
came down upon his feet squarely and firmly.
"Now, Jack,", said Abraham, "let's quit; I can't
throw you, and you can't throw me."
" No, Jack, don't give up," shouted Bill Clary ;
"Abe's begging for quarter now." Bill supposed
that Abraham's courage was failing him, or else it was
the plan of the gang to play foul. Be this as it may,
Jack at once broke his hold and adopted the unfair
method of " legging," whereupon Abraham seized him
by the throat, and lifting him from the ground, and
holding him at arm's length, shook him like a child.
The astonished ruffians saw that their champion was
worsted, and they cried : —
" Fight, Jack, fight ! "
No doubt all of them would have attacked Abraham
had Jack led off. But the latter saw little encourage-
ment in continuing a contest with a man who could
hold him out at arm's length by the throat ; and the
moment Abraham relinquished his hold, Jack grasped
224 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
his hand in friendship, and declared that " Abe was the
the best feller that ever broke into their settlement."
Their friendship became almost like that of David and
Jonathan ; and from that moment the sway of the
" Clary Grove Boys " was broken in New Salem. Abra-
ham did not hesitate to denounce their acts publicly ;
and others soon joined him in open hostility to such
ruffianism. The result was, that the gang gradually
faded out, and quite a number of them became respect-
able citizens. Abraham's great strength and kindness
of heart did more to reform the scoundrels than a
missionary from New England could have done.
Everybody now became as enthusiastic over Abra-
ham as Offutt was.
"I told you so," said the latter. "I've seen some-
thing of the world, and, I tell you, his like I never saw."
There was no one to dispute Offutt now. There
was an end to all riotous proceedings ; for Abraham
declared that such ruffianly conduct should be stopped,
and some of the citizens were bold enough to back
him. Even Jack Armstrong promised him assistance.
Abraham's influence became regnant in New Salem.
He was even appealed to by neighbors to settle diffi-
culties, so that he wore the honors of " peacemaker"
in Illinois as he did in Indiana.
It was in New Salem that Abraham won the soubri-
quet " Honest Abe," which he carried through life.
The public confidence in his integrity and fairminded-
ness was such that he was usually chosen for umpire
in all games and trials where two sides enlisted. And
finally, he became in so great demand in this line, that
both sides, in those friendly contests, made him judge.
STILL A CLERK. 225
An incident illustrates how strong a friend Jack
Armstrong became to Abraham. A stranger came
into town, and he proved to be a kind of bully, and got
into a difficulty with Jack.
" You are a coward and a liar," said Jack.
" You'll find out whether I am or not," exclaimed
the stranger.
" You're a coward and a liar, I say," shouted Jack,
more loudly and defiantly, while the stranger backed
towards a wood-pile as Jack advanced.
Before Jack perceived the purpose of the stranger,
the latter seized a stick of wood, and struck him such
a blow as to bring him to the ground. Jack recovered
himself in a moment, and was about to leap upon his
antagonist, when Abraham, who was near, interfered,
saying, —
" I wouldn't, Jack ; it won't do you any good."
" I'll thrash the rascal," retorted Jack with wrath.
"No, Jack; we've done with that kind of business
in New Salem, you know," Abraham continued.
" But he insulted me."
" And what did you say to him ? " inquired Abraham.
The question .mollified Jack's wrath somewhat, for he
began to get his eyes open.
" I called him a coward and a liar," replied Jack.
" Well, suppose you were a stranger, in a strange
place, and a man should call you a coward and a liar,
what would you do ? "
" Thrash him terribly," answered Jack.
" Then this man has done no more to you than you
would have done to him," suggested Abraham.
" That's so," responded Jack, as if he saw the point
226 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
clearly. "It's all right, Abe." And turning to the
stranger, he added, "Give us your hand ;" and suiting
the action to his words, he took the hand of the
stranger, and declared himself a friend, supplementing
his pledge of friendship with an invitation to " take a
drink," according to the custom of the "Clary Grove
Boys."
Offutt came into the store one afternoon perplexed
as to the disposition of a large drove of hogs he had
purchased. He had no pen large enough to contain
them.
" Build one," said Abraham promptly.
" Too much work ; take too long," replied Offutt.
" It's more work to be without a pen when you need
a larger one," was Abraham's suggestive answer. '
" Can't get anybody to build it," continued Offutt.
" I can build it myself," said Abraham.
" What can't you do ? " answered Offutt.
"There are a great many things I can't do; but I
can build a pig-pen," Abraham replied with a smile.
"Well, go at it, then, and I'll help William - about
the store and look after the mill," was Offutt's quick
decision.
Abraham went into the woods and cut down the
trees, and split rails enough to make a pen sufficiently
large to hold a thousand hogs.
During the time that Abraham served Offutt, he
attended a debating club. Dr. Holland says : —
" During this year he was also much engaged with
debating clubs, often walking six or seven miles to
attend them. One of these clubs held its meetings
at an old store-house in New Salem. He used to call
STILL A CLERK. 227
these exercises 'practising polemics.' As these clubs
were composed principally of men of no education
whatever, some of their 'polemics' are remembered
as the most laughable of farces. His favorite news-
paper, at this time, was the Louisville Journal, a paper
which he received regularly by mail, and paid for dur-
ing a number of years when he had not money enough
to dress decently. He liked its politics, and was par-
ticularly delighted with its wit and humor, of which
he had the keenest appreciation. When out of the
store he was always busy in the pursuit of knowledge.
One gentleman, who met him during this period, says
that the first time he saw him he was lying on a
trundle-bed, covered with books and papers, and rock-
ing a cradle with his foot. Of the amount of uncov-
ered space between the extremities of his trousers and
the top of his socks which this informant observed,
there shall be no mention. The whole scene, how-
ever, was entirely characteristic — Lincoln reading and
studying, and at the same time helping his landlady
by quieting her child."
The question whether the Sangamon river was
navigable or not had been under discussion several
years, and reached the crisis while Abraham was in
the employ of Offutt, or just after he closed his labors
for him.
"The 'Talisman' is chartered for the experiment,"
said a citizen of New Salem to Abraham ; " and you
ought to be her captain."
" It will take a man of more experience than I have
had to run her up the river," was Abraham's modest
answer.
228 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
"Well, there's nobody here that understands the
business better than you do," continued the citizen.
" Will you undertake if you are wanted ?"
"I'll try, and do the best I can," was Abraham's
characteristic reply. " I have tried this river consid-
erably with a flat-boat."
" That is what I thought, and for that reason you
ought to pilot the ' Talisman ' ; and I think that is the
general opinion."
" I am willing to undertake it if it is thought best,"
Abraham added.
The result was that he was sent, with others, to
meet the steamer at Beardstown, and pilot her up.
There was great excitement over the experiment, and
the inhabitants came from far and near to witness the
trial from the banks of the river. Abraham took his
place at the helm, and piloted her with comparative
ease and safety as far as the New Salem dam, the
people gathered upon the banks of the river frequently
cheering at the top of their voices. Here it was neces-
sary to remove a part of the dam to let the steamer
through. She ran up to Bogue's mill, when the
rapidly falling water admonished the successful cap-
tain that she must be turned down stream or be left
there for the season. No time was lost in beginning
the return trip, which was accomplished at the slow rate
of three or four miles a day, " on account of the high
wind from the prairie." J. R. Herndon was sent for,
and he says : " I was sent for, being an old boatman,
and I met her some twelve or thirteen miles above
New Salem. . . . We got to Salem the second day
after I went on board, When we struck the dam she
STILL A CLERK. 229
hung. We then backed off, and threw the anchor
over the dam, and tore away part of the dam ;
then, raising steam, ran her over the first trial,
As soon as she was over, the company that char-
tered her was done with her. I think the captain
gave Lincoln forty dollars to run her down to Beards-
town. I am sure I got forty dollars to continue on
her until we landed at Beardstown. We that went
with her walked back to New Salem."
While Abraham was in the employ of Offutt, the
latter made some unprofitable ventures, by reason of
which he became pecuniarily embarrassed. His mill
enterprise did not prove as successful as he anticipated,
and other speculations left him considerably out of
pocket. Fortune ceased to smile upon any of his
enterprises, and his difficulties multiplied from week
to week, until he failed, closed his store, shut down his
mill, and left Abraham without employment. It was,
however, a period of very great advancement to
Abraham. He had acquired much knowledge of mer-
cantile business, had become familiar with grammar,
had read many books, made many friends, and im-
proved himself generally. Dr. Holland says, that,
when he terminated his labors for Offutt, " every one
trusted him. He was judge, arbitrator, referee,
umpire, authority in all disputes, ganies and matches
of man-flesh and horse-flesh ; a pacificator in all quar-
rels ; everybody's friend ; the best-natured, the most
sensible, the best-informed, the most modest and un-
assuming, the kindest, gentlest, roughest, strongest,
best young fellow in all New Salem and the region
round about."
CHAPTER XVIII.
ON THE WAR-PATH.
|HE Black Hawk War was causing great
excitement in Illinois and other Western
states when Abraham closed his labors with
Offutt. Not long afterward, the Governor
of Illinois called for four regiments of volunteers.
" I shall enlist," said Abraham to his intimate friend
and companion, William Green, as soon as the news
reached New Salem.
"I shall if you do," responded William.
"Well, I shall do it, honest. Nothing else on hand
now. Besides, Black Hawk is one of the most treacher-
ous Indians on the footstool, and he ought to be shot.
It is not more than a year ago, and hardly that, that he
entered into a treaty ; and he was to keep his people
on the other side of the Mississippi, and now he has
crossed to make war on the whites."
"Real Indian, that is," continued William; "the
only way to deal with an Indian is to shoot him."
" I don't know about that ; it's the only way to treat
Black Hawk, though, — a cunning, artful warrior, who
is in his element when he can massacre the whites,"
added Abraham.
ON THE WAR-PATH. 23 1
"They expect to make short work of it, or the
governor would have called for volunteers for more
than thirty days," suggested William.
" They may call for them again after the expiration
of thirty days, and the same volunteers may re-enlist.
I shall enlist for the war, whether it is thirty days or
thirty months." Abraham meant just what he said, as
the sequel will show.
"Clary Grove Boys" were now the fast friends of
Abraham, and all were eager to enlist with him. Other
young men, and older men, also, were ready for the war.
In consequence of the general interest awakened, Abra-
ham said: —
"We can raise a company in New Salem."
"True as you live," answered Herndon.
" We must be about it in a hurry if we are going to
do it," remarked Green.
The whole town became fired with military ardor, in
consequence of Abraham's leadership, and the result
was that a recruiting office was opened in New Salem.
Within a few days the company was full, Abraham
being the first to enlist ; and the choice of officers
became the exciting topic. However, the officers were
not elected at New Salem ; but the volunteers marched
to Bushville, in Schuyler County, where the election
took place.
There were only two candidates for captain, Abra-
ham and Fitzpatrick, the owner of the saw-mill at
Spring Creek. He sawed the lumber for Abraham
when he built the boat for Offutt, and treated his
customer rudely. Fitzpatrick was a popular man, but
there was a small show for him in a race with Abraham.
232 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
The method of electing captain was peculiar ; per-
haps the best method for that place, under the circum-
stances. The two candidates were required to take
their positions opposite each other, at a suitable dis-
tance ; and, at a given signal, each volunteer went
to the one whom he desired for his captain. Three-
fourths of the whole number at once took their stand
with Abraham ; and, when those who first went to
Fitzpatrick saw the overwhelming majority for Abra-
ham, one by one they left the former and joined the
latter, until but one or two stood with Fitzpatrick.
"I felt bad for Fitzpatrick," said Green; "he was
the most lonesome-looking fellow I ever saw."
" He might have known that we shouldn't vote for
him when Abe is about," remarked Herndon. " He
was too anxious to serve his country."
These, and kindred remarks, were bandied aboi^.
after the company had indulged in vociferous cheering,
that Black Hawk might have heard if he had been
within a reasonable distance.
"A speech from the captain," was the imperative
call from the company ; and Abraham promptly accom-
modated them to one of his best efforts, in which he
thanked them for the honor conferred, maintained that
their choice might have fallen upon one much better
qualified for the position than himself, and promised
that he would do the best he could to prove himself
worthy of their confidence.
" Captain Lincoln ! " exclaimed William Greene,
addressing Abraham facetiously, and tipping his hat ;
and, henceforth, "Captain Lincoln" was alone the
soubriquet by which he was known.
ON THE WAR-PATH. 233
One incident occurred before the organization of
this company, which should be rehearsed. It illus-
trates his temperance principles, at the same time
that it shows his marvellous strength. Green said
to a stranger, who happened to be in New Sa-
lem,—
"Abe Lincoln is the strongest man in Illinois."
"I deny it," answered the stranger, immediately
naming a stronger party.
" How much can he lift," asked Green.
" He'll lift a barrel of flour as easily as I can a peck
of potatoes."
" Abe can lift two barrels if " he could get hold of
them."
" Ha ! ha ! ha ! " laughed the man. " You can tell
a greater story than I can."
" Great story or not, I will bet that Abe will lift
a barrel of whiskey, and drink out of the bunghole."
"Worse yet," replied the man. "I'll bet he can't
do any such thing."
" What will you bet ? "
"I'll bet a good hat; and we'll have him try right
off, if he will."
"Agreed," said Green. The truth was he had
seen Abraham do this very thing, minus the drinking
part, so that he knew he should win.
Without delay they sought Abraham, and pro-
ceeded to the store, where the whiskey was found.
" I don't think much of the betting part," said
Abraham, " but I guess I'll help William out of the
scrape, though he won't have much chance to wear
the hat yet awhile, if he is going to war with me."
234 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" Well, if you can do what he says you can, I want
to see it," said the man.
" You shall have the privilege," answered Abra-
ham.
At once he proceeded to perform the feat, and
accomplished' it with seeming ease. The barrel was
raised, and a quantity of liquor taken from the bung-
hole.
"There it is!" exclaimed Green. " But that is the
first dram I ever saw you drink in my life, Abe," he
added, turning to Abraham.
The words had scarcely escaped his lips, before
Abraham set down the barrel, and spirted the whis-
key that was in his mouth upon the floor, at the
same time replying, " And I haven't drank that, you
see."
Green burst into a hearty laugh at this turn of the
affair, and added, " You are bound to let whiskey
alone, Abe."
And this same Green writes to us : " That was the
only drink of intoxicating liquor I ever saw him take,
and that he spirted on the floor."
The stranger was satisfied, as well as astonished.
He had never seen the like before, and he doubted
whether he ever should again. He did not know that
the whole life-discipline through which Abraham
had passed was suited to develop muscular strength.
Probably he did not care, since there was the actual
deed.
We are interested in it mostly for the determina-
tion it showed to reject whiskey. The act was in
keeping with all his previous temperance habits.
ON THE WAR-PATH. 235
On the evening after this affair, Abraham was
alone with his friend William Green, who won the
aforesaid hat, and he said to him, "William, are you
in the habit of betting ? "
" No ; I never bet before in my life, never."
" Well, I never would again, if I were you. It is
what unprincipled men will do, and I would set my
face against it."
" I didn't see anything very bad in that bet," said
William.
" All bets are alike," answered Abraham, " though
you may not have any bad motives in doing it."
" I only wanted to convince the man that you could
lift the barrel."
" I know it ; but I want you should promise me that
you will never bet again. It is a species of gambling,
and nothing is meaner than that."
"I don't suppose I shall ever do it again."
" I want you should promise me that you won't,"
continued Abraham, with increased emphasis. "It
will please your mother to know of so good a reso-
lution."
" I will promise you, Abe," answered William,
grasping his hand, while tears glistened in his eyes.
And there was true seriousness in this transaction,
more than might appear to the reader at first view.
The one who thus pledged himself to Abraham writes
to us now, in his riper years : " On that night, when
alone, I wept over his lecture to me, and I have so far
kept that solemn pledge."
The New Salem company went into camp at
Beardstown, from whence, in a few days, they
236 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
marched to the expected scene of conflict. When
the thirty days of their enlistment had expired, how-
ever, they had not seen the enemy. They were dis-
banded at Ottawa, and most of the volunteers
returned. But a new levy being called for, Abraham
re-enlisted as a private. Another thirty days ex-
pired, and the war was not over. His regiment was
disbanded, and again, the third time, he volunteered.
He was determined to serve his country as long as the
war lasted. Before the third term of his enlistment
had expired, the battle of Bad Axe was fought, which
put an end to the war.
He returned home. " Having lost his horse, near
where the town of Janesville, Wisconsin, now stands,
he went down Rock River to Dixon in a canoe.
Thence he crossed the country on foot to Peoria,
where he again took a canoe to a point on the Illinois
River, within forty miles of home. The latter dis-
tance he accomplished on foot."
Several incidents transpired during his connection
with the army, which are so expressive of certain
elements of his character, that we record them here.
One day an old Indian found his way into camp, pro-
fessing to be friendly to the whites, and casting him-
self upon the mercy of Lincoln's soldiers.
"We came to fight Indians," shouted one of the
" boys," " and we'll give you cold lead instead of
mercy."
" Shoot him ! shoot him ! " cried several voices.
" A spy ! a spy ! " shouted others.
The demonstration terrified the Indian, and, in his
distress, he flung down a crumpled paper that he had
Interceding for an Indian in the Black-Hawk War.
ON THE WAR-PATH. 237
been holding in his hand, and begged them to read it.
Captain Lincoln took it up, and found that it was a
certificate of character and safe-conduct from General
Cass, endorsing the Indian as a faithful man who had
done good for him.
" A forged document ! " was the cry raised at once.
"The old savage can't run it on us like that,"
cried Bill Clary, raising his gun in a threatening
manner.
" Kill him ! show him no quarter ! " cried another of
the " Clary Grove Boys," several of whom had made
considerable trouble for their captain by their unruly
conduct.
The "boys" were bound to kill the red-skin, and
were actually rushing upon him when Captain Lincoln
sprang before him, confronting the assailants, and
commanding them to desist.
" You shall not shoot the Indian," he cried. " Gen-
eral Cass's order must be respected."
"We will shoot him," yelled a Clary Grove ruffian.
" Not unless you shoot me," fiercely cried Captain
Lincoln, towering up to his full height, and covering
the Indian by his bodily presence.
His determined manner, resolute and invincible
spirit, and terrible earnestness, evinced by every motion
of his body, cowed the "boys," so that they fell back
sullenly, and desisted from firing the fatal shot.
Some of them, however, still muttered vengeance in a
low tone, and finally, one, more defiant than the rest,
exclaimed :
" This is cowardly on your part, Lincoln."
Aroused to the highest pitch of determination by this
238 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
insolent and unreasonable charge, Captain Lincoln
shouted :
" If any of you think I am a coward, let hirn test it*
here and now."
" You are larger and heavier than we are, Lincoln,"
replied one.
" You can guard against this ; choose your own
weapons," Captain Lincoln retorted, the unconquerable
spirit within him manifesting itself through every
lineament of his face and every gesture. " He never
appeared so powerful and fearless before," says one
who was present. Even the most rebellious of the
" Clary Grove Boys " dared not lift his finger against
the Indian ; and never more did they associate the
term "coward " with Lincoln's name.
In this affair Captain Lincoln's life was in as great
peril as that of the Indian. One of his biographers
says : " He often declared that his life and character
were both at stake, and would probably have been
lost, had he not at that supremely critical moment for-
gotten the officer and asserted the man. To have
ordered the offenders under arrest would have created
a formidable mutiny ; to have tried and punished them
would have been impossible. They could scarcely be
called soldiers ; they were merely armed citizens, with
a nominal military organization. They were but re-
cently enlisted, and their term of service was about to
expire. Had he preferred charges against them, and
offered to submit their differences to a court of any
sort, it would have been regarded as an act of personal
pusillanimity, and his efficiency would have been gone
forever."
ON THE WAR-PATH. 239
Wrestling, jumping, and lifting was a pastime in
camp, and Captain Lincoln excelled every man in the
regiment in these feats. His company declared that
there was not a man in the whole army who was his
equal as a wrestler ; and they boastfully pitted him
against the " whole field." This challenge brought
out a man from another regiment, by the name of
Thompson, who offered to wrestle with Lincoln. The
latter' s company at once staked money, weapons, and
outfit, believing that their captain would lay the
"great Western wrestler," as he was called, on his
back.
Captain Lincoln had tussled with Thompson but
a few minutes when he remarked to his friends, —
" This is the most powerful man I ever had hold of.
He will throw me, and you will lose."
The company urged him on, believing he was more
than a match for Thompson ; but they were sadly dis-
appointed when the latter threw their champion flat
on his back. As, according to the custom, it required
two out of three falls to settle the contest, they were
soon struggling again, when both of them came to
the ground, Thompson on top. In their great disap-
pointment, Lincoln's men claimed that Thompson was
thrown as really as their captain, the second time, and
refused to give up their property staked. This
brought on a collision with Thompson's friends, and
they were about to proceed to blows, when Captain
Lincoln magnanimously stepped in and prevented fur-
ther trouble. Addressing his men, he said, —
" Boys, Thompson actually threw me once fair,
broadly so ; and the second time he threw me fairly,
240 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
though not apparently so." And he counselled them
to be honest and accept the inevitable. This was a
very remarkable example of magnanimity, and served
to exalt Lincoln still higher, if possible, in the estima-
tion of all.
Another incident we will give in the language of
William Green : " One other word in reference to
Lincoln's care for the health and welfare of his men,
and justice to them. Some officers of the United
States had claimed that the regular army had a pref-.
erence in the rations and pay. Captain Lincoln was
ordered to do some act which he deemed unauthor-
ized. He, however, obeyed, but went to the officer
and said to him, ' Sir, you forget that we are not
under the rules and regulations of the War Depart-
ment at Washington ; are only volunteers under the
orders and regulations of Illinois. Keep in your own
sphere, and there will be no difficulty ; but resistance
will hereafter be made to your unjust orders ; and,
further, my men must be equal in all particulars, in
rations, arms, camps, etc., to the regular army.' The
man saw that Lincoln was right, and determined to
have justice done. Afterwards we were treated
equally well, and just as the regular army was, in every
particular. This brave, just, and humane act in behalf
of the volunteers at once attached officers and rank to
him, as with hooks of steel."
Mr. Irwin pays the following deserved tribute to
Lincoln in the army : " During the campaign Lincoln
himself was always ready for an emergency. He en-
dured hardships like a good soldier ; he never com-
plained, nor did he fear danger. When fighting was
ON THE WAR-PATH. 24 1
expected, or danger apprehended, Lincoln was the first
to say e Let's go.' He had the confidence of every
man of his company, and they obeyed his orders at a
word. His company was mostly young men, and full
of sport."
The Black Hawk war was not much of a war after
all, and our hero did not engage directly with the
enemy face to face. Yet two officers in that war, Col-
onel Zachary Taylor and Captain Abraham Lincoln,
subsequently became Presidents of the United States.
One of the most humorous speeches Abraham Lin-
coln ever made in Congress had reference to this war.
General Cass was the Democratic candidate for Presi-
dent, and certain congressional orators made capital
out of the General's connection with the Black Hawk
war.
Lincoln rose in his seat, and said, among other
things, " By the way, Mr. Speaker, do you know that I
am a military hero ? Yes, sir, in the days of the Black
Hawk war, I fought, bled, and came away. Speak-
ing of General Cass's career reminds me of my own.
I was not at Stillman's defeat, but I was about as near
it as Cass to Hull's surrender ; and like him I saw the
place very soon afterward. It is quite certain that I
did not break my sword, for I had none to break ; *
but I bent my musket pretty badly on one occasion.
. . . If General Cass went in advance of me in pick-
ing whortleberries, I guess I surpassed him in charges
upon the wild onions. If he saw any live, fighting
Indians, it was more than I did, but I had a good many
* Lincoln re-enlisted as private, so that he did not carry a
sword after the term of his company's enlistment expired.
242 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
bloody struggles with the mosquitoes ; and, although I
never fainted from loss of blood, I can truly say I was
often very hungry. ... If I should ever turn
Democrat, and be taken up as a candidate for the
Presidency by the Democratic party, I hope they will
not make fun of me by attempting to make me out a
military hero."
CHAPTER XIX.
UNSOUGHT HONORS.
|N his return from the Black Hawk warv
Lincoln took up his abode in the family of
J. R. Herndon. The people of New Salem
gave him a hearty welcome, and delighted
to call him " Captain Lincoln." The Herndon family
were soon more strongly attached to him than ever.
" He had one of Herndon's children around with him
nearly all the time," says an eye-witness. " He was
at home wherever he went, and made himself wonder-
fully agreeable to the people he lived with, or hap-
pened to be visiting," says Mr. Herndon. That his
kind and benevolent disposition did not suffer by his
service in the army is quite evident from a remark of
Mr. Herndon, " He was kind to the widow and
orphan, and chopped their wood."
He was casting about for some employment, wheie-
by to earn a livelihood. For some reason, to us
unknown, the blacksmith's trade attracted his atten-
tion.
"What do you think of my learning the black-
smith's trade ? " he said to his friend, William Green,
one day.
244 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
"A blacksmith !" exclaimed William with much sur-
prise. "That would be quite a descent from Captain
Linco.m to smithy Lincoln. You are joking, Cap'n."
"Never was more serious in my life, William. A
blacksmith is of more practical use to the community
than a captain in an Indian war."
"But less glory in it," replied Green. "You don't
seem to understand that war makes heroes, and
heroes get into political life. Why, Abe, we're going
to send you to the legislature."
"None of your bantering, William," Lincoln
answered, supposing that his friend was joking. "I'm
talking business."
" So am I. Haven't you heard, Abe, that the Clay
men are going to run you for the legislature?"
"No, nor you. Yesterday I heard the names of
John T. Stuart, Colonel Taylor and Peter Cartwright,
named as Jackson candidates ; and nobody would think
of running me against such men."
"All that may be, and there may be a half-dozen
other candidates ; but we are going to run you
against the tyhole batch, unless you positively de-
cline."
"You are crazy, William, and all the rest of you
who entertain such a thought. What! run me,
nothing but a strapping boy, against such men of
experience and wisdom! Come, now, no more of
your gammon."
"Then you won't believe me?"
"I didn't say so."
"Well, believe it or not, you will be waited upon by
older persons than I am, to get your consent."
UNSOUGHT HONORS. 245
And, sure enough, he was waited upon by several of
the most influential citizens of New Salem, within
twenty-four hours thereafter, to ask his consent to run
as a candidate for the legislature.
"It will only subject me to ridicule," he said.
"Why so?" inquired one of the number.
"For the folly of running against such men as
Stuart and Cartwright."
"Not if you beat them."
"That is impossible. I should not expect to be
elected, if I should consent to be a candidate."
"I don't know about that," answered one; "we
expect to elect you."
" But I have lived in the county only a few
months, and am known only in New Salem, while
the other candidates are known in every part of the
county. Besides, it is only ten days before the
election, and there is little time to carry your
measures."
"Very true; but there is a principle involved in
your nomination, and we shall sustain that, whether
you are elected or not."
Here was a point of importance. There were no
distinct political parties then in the State, as there
are now. But there were "Jackson men and Clay
men," not to mention others. Abraham was a " Clay
man," while the majority vote of the county, at the
previous presidential election, was cast for Jackson.
In these circumstances there was little prospect that
the young candidate would be elected.
Suffice to say that Abraham at last yielded very
reluctantly, and became a candidate. He was not
246 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
elected ; but his popularity may be learned from the
fact that he stood next to the successful candidate,
and only a few votes behind him. " His own precinct,
New Salem, gave him 277 votes in a poll of 284," — all
but seven. No one was more surprised than Abraham
himself. Although he was not elected, yet the result,
in the circumstances, was a signal triumph.
Mr. R. B. Rutledge was the citizen who really
secured Lincoln's consent to be a candidate. He
had heard him make a speech before the " New Salem
Literary Society/' on one occasion, which impressed
him so much that he did not hesitate to say, "Abe
will make a great man." Of that speech he says:
"As he rose to speak, his tall form towered above the
little assembly. Both hands were thrust down deep in
the pockets of his pantaloons. A perceptible smile at
once lit up the faces of the audience, for all anticipated
the relation of some humorous story. But he opened
up the discussion in splendid style, to the astonish-
ment of his friends. As he warmed with his subject,
his hands forsook his pockets and enforced his noble
thoughts with awkward gestures. He pursued the
question with reason and argument so pithy that all
were amazed." The president, at his fireside, after the
meeting, remarked to his wife, "There is more in
Abe's head than wit and fun. He is already a fine
speaker, and all that is needed is culture, to enable
him to reach the high place which I believe is in store
for him."
While Mr. Rutledge admitted to Abraham that
there was little or no chance of his election, he assured
him that the canvass would bring his name prominently
UNSOUGHT HONORS. 247
before the voters of the county for future use. His
arguments prevailed with Lincoln.
Candidates for State offices were obliged to take the
stump, and declare their sentiments and vindicate
them. Abraham followed the custom, and made
several speeches, with the expressed condition, how-
ever, that "his friends should not laugh at him." His
first speech was made at Pappsville, about eleven miles
west of Springfield. It was as follows: —
"Gentlemen and fellow-citizens, I presume you all
know who I am. I am humble Abraham Lincoln. I
have been solicited by many friends to become a can-
didate for the Legislature. My politics are short and
sweet : I am in favor of a national bank ; I am in
favor of the internal improvement system and a high
protective tariff. These are my sentiments and politi-
cal principles. If elected, I shall be thankful ; if not,
it will be all the same."
The brevity of his speech was the fruit of his
modesty, which did not fail to captivate his hearers.
He made several other speeches, and issued an address
also, of considerable length and real merit, to the voters
of the county. In closing that address, he said: —
" Considering the great degree of modesty that
should always attend youth, it is probable that I have
been more presuming than becomes me. However,
upon the subjects of which I have treated, I have
spoken as I have thought. . . . Every man is said
to have his peculiar ambition. Whether it be true or
not, I can say, for one, that I have no other so great
as that of being truly esteemed of my fellow-men, by
rendering myself worthy of their esteem."
248 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
His opponents made fun of his appearance wherever
he spoke; and it must be confessed that there was
some occasion for it, judging from the description of
his dress furnished by his friend, Mr. A. B. Ellis, who
accompanied him during a part of the campaign. He
says : " He wore a mixed jeans coat, claw-hammer
style, short in the sleeves, and bobtail, — in fact, it
was so short in the tail he could not sit on it, — flax
and tow linen pantaloons, and a straw hat. I think
he wore a vest, but do not remember how it looked.
He then wore pot-metal boots."
Thoughtful, substantial citizens regarded Abra-
ham's mode of dress rather complimentary. It
denoted the absence of pride and vanity to them
more than an absence of taste. " Abe's no dandy,"
remarked one of his most enthusiastic admirers,
designing to pay him a high compliment.
When the labor and excitement of the campaign
were over, Abraham's pocket was empty. He was,
therefore, under the necessity of finding " something
to do."- The vote of New Salem convinced him that
he had plenty of friends there. A citizen remarked,
referring to his poverty, "Abe has nothing except
plenty of friends." But he must have work, also.
" You must stay here," said his friend Green, very
earnestly.
" There is no must about it, if there's no work for
me," answered Lincoln.
" There'll be enough that you can do, only take
time for it ; the world wasn't made in a minute."
" No ; I suppose it took about six days, and if I can
find employment in that time, I shall be satisfied."
UNSOUGHT HONORS. 249
"I'll tell you what to do, Abe, — study law.
you're just the man for it."
"Whew! I should laugh to see myself trying to
make a lawyer."
" Why not be one, I should like to know ? "
" For the very good reason, that I haven't brains
enough."
"Just what I thought you would say. You are
altogether too sparing of good opinions of your-
self. You've more brains than half the lawyers in
Illinois."
" Perhaps that isn't saying much," replied Abra-
ham, laughing; "although it is a pretty handsome
compliment on your part. Much obliged."
"Well, compliment or not, I have heard a good
many people say that you ought to be a lawyer."
" And I have heard one propose that I be a black-
smith, as I told you ; and I suppose I could swing a
sledge-hammer equal to any of them."
" And throw away your talents ? Any fool could
be a blacksmith."
" By no means. No man can be successful at any-
thing unless he is industrious, and has common sense,
and a good share of perseverance."
" That's so, I s'pose ; but a blacksmith is the last
thing I would be if I were in your place. I would like
to know who ever suggested such an idea to you."
" My father several years ago ; and less than five
years ago I came within an ace of putting his advice
into practice. I almost decided to go at it for life."
" Ha ! ha ! ha ! " laughed his friend, heartily.
" Wouldn't you cut a dash donning a leather apron
250 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
and blowing the blacksmith's bellows, like another Jacl$
Smuttyface, as they used to call Jake Tower."
"An honest calling," answered Lincoln; "and that
is the main thing. A lawyer can look a little more
spruce than a son of Vulcan, to be sure ; but a black
smith can be just as upright, if not a little more so."
"And what do you mean by 'a little more so'?"
asked Green.
" Why, don't you know that nearly everybody sus-
pects lawyers of trickery, — doing anything for a fee,
blowing hot or cold for the sake of a case, — shielding
the meanest culprits as readily as they do the best
men — and all that sort of thing ?"
" Not quite so bad as that, Abe. I know that law-
yers are not over particular, and that is true of a good
many folks who are not lawyers. If you won't follow
a calling because there are scapegraces in it, you will
not choose one right away."
" Perhaps so ; but no man has any more right to
defend the wrong because he is a lawyer than he has
because he is a blacksmith, in my way of thinking."
" I give it up, Abe ; you've got the case already, and
I am more convinced than ever that you ought to study
law."
"That is, if you are judge and jury," responded
Lincoln. " But I don't understand why it is that
people are determined I shall be a lawyer. As many
as ten months ago, two or three people gave me the
same advice, though I thought they were half in
joke."
" Well, Abe, perhaps you'll get your eyes open, if
you live long enough, to see what you ought to be,"
UNSOUGHT HONORS. 2$ I
said Green, in a strain of pleasantry. " Not many
folks live that have to go to their neighbors to find out
what they are. By the time you are seven feet high,
perhaps you will understand."
" I should think I was pretty near that now, by what
people say," archly replied Lincoln.
- I think you are in a fair way to be, if you keep
on."
" And I shall be a lawyer by that time, and not be.
fore." And here they parted.
Lincoln had no intention of being a lawyer, after all
that his friends had suggested. He had no confidence
in his abilities for that profession. Indeed, he could
not see how a young man reared as he was could ex-
pect to enter upon such a calling. Yet he longed for
some permanent pursuit, — a life-vocation. He did
not like this going from one thing to another, and he
only did it from sheer necessity. He believed that a
young man should choose a calling, and stick to it with
unwearied devotion, if he would make anything in the
world. He wanted to do this ; but what should he
choose? He was perplexed, troubled, and the more
so, because admiring friends advised him to do what
he really supposed was beyond his ability. He under-
rated his talents, (a very good failing), and all the time
thought that others were overrating them. Few
youth and young men suffer in this way. They are
more apt to injure themselves by too exalted views of
their talents. Some of the veriest simpletons esteem
themselves as the wisest and greatest men. Igno-
rance is more likely to be vain and proud than ripe
talents and learning. True knowledge is humble.
252 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
Great talents are marked by humility. And so young
Lincoln did not stand so high in his own estimation as
he did in the estimation of others. This was the
case with Sir Humphrey Davy, Nathaniel Bowditch,
Arkwright, Franklin, Washington, and many others.
From their youth they were devoid of that vain self-
confidence which many shallow-brained people pos
sess.
Instead of becoming a blacksmith, however, Abra
ham became a merchant. Mr. Herndon, with whom
he boarded, was running a grocery with one Berry,
and he sold out his interest to Lincoln. Soon after-
wards William Green bought out Radford, and imme-
diately sold his stock of groceries to Lincoln for a
bonus of one hundred and fifty dollars, taking Lin-
coln's note. The name of the firm was " Lincoln &
Berry." Berry turned out to be an intemperate,
worthless fellow, embarrassed the business, cheated
his partner, " cleared out," and left Lincoln with all
the debts to pay. The settlement left him penniless,
without a copper to pay his note to Green. "All
right," said Green ; " don't trouble yourself about me.
When you are able to pay it you can ; but if you don't,
it's all the same.'
Abraham facetiously called it "the national debt,"
and declared that he " should never rest until it was
paid." And he did not. Green removed to Tennes-
see before the note was paid, and scarcely ^expected
that his friend would ever be able to redeem it. But,
in 1840, after Abraham had entered the legal profes-
sion, the last dollar was paid.
Being through with his store Abraham was again
UNSOUGHT HONORS. 253
without employment. To add to his disappointment,
Mr. Herndon, with whom he boarded, removed from
town, obliging him to take up his quarters at the
village " tavern" — a log house with four rooms.
While waiting for some opening, he devoted himself
to mental improvement with more earnestness than
ever. He read Rollin's Ancient History. Gibbon's
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, and similar
works, borrowed of William Green, Minter Graham,
Bowlin Greene, and other parties. Copies of the
works of the poets, Burns and Shakespeare, were
lent him, and Kirkham's Grammar was reviewed,
also. He was so won by Burns and Shakespeare that
he committed many of their best productions to
memory ; and through life, these poets were his
favorite reading.
He wrote a careful synopsis of all the books he
read, in order to treasure the contents in his memory.
This habit was of inestimable value to him. To it is
to be traced, in part at least, that clearness of ex-
pression, and that fund of illustrations and facts, for
which the public addresses of his ripe manhood were
distinguished.
Citizens of New Salem claim, also, that he began
to study law at this time. There is no reliable evi-
dence, however, that he began the study of law, with
the expectation of ever entering the profession, at
that time. He purchased an old copy of Blackstone,
or some other law book, at an auction in Springfield ;
and there is no doubt that he studied it as thoroughly
as he did other works, but with no settled determina*
tion to become a lawyer.
254 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
Mr. Henry says of him, at this time, " He used to
read law, barefooted, seated in the shade of a tree,
and would grind around with the shade, just oppo-
site Berry's grocery store, a few feet south of the
door. He occasionally varied the attitude by lying
flat on his back, and putting his feet tip the tree."
Another says that " he studied, also, Natural Phi-
losophy, Chemistry, Astronomy, etc. He had no
regular teacher, but perhaps received more assistance
from Minter Graham than from any other person."
Mr. Ellis, of whom we have spoken, opened a store
in New Salem, and boarded at the "tavern" when
Abraham did. He says of him : —
" He used to assist me in the store on busy days,
but he always disliked to wait on the ladies ; he
preferred trading with the men and boys, as he
used to say. I also remember that he used to sleep in
the store, on the counter, when they had too much
company at the tavern.
" I well remember how he was dressed ; he wore
flax and tow linen pantaloons, — I thought about five
inches too short in the legs, — and frequently he had
but one suspender, no vest or coat. He wore a calico
shirt, such as he had in the Black Hawk War : coarse
brogans, tan color ; blue yarn socks, and straw hat, old
style, and without a band.
" He was very shy of ladies. On one occasion,
while we boarded at this tavern, there came a family,
containing an old lady and her son, and three stylish
daughters, from the State of Virginia, and stopped
there for two or three weeks ; and, during their stay,
I do not remember of Lincoln ever eatinsr at the same
UNSOUGHT HONORS. 2$$
table when they did. I then thought it was on
account of his awkward appearance and his wearing
apparel."
Mr. Lamon says of him, at this time : " He read
with avidity all the newspapers that came to New
Salem, — chiefly 'The Sangamon Journal,' 'The
Missouri Republican' and the 'Louisville Journal.'
The latter was his favorite ; its wit and anecdotea.
were after his own heart." He also read "The
Cincinnati Gazette" and other papers.
His quarters at the "tavern" subjected him to
many interruptions. People enjoyed his conversation
so much that they paid little regard to his time for
study. In consequence, he was obliged to seek quiet
elsewhere. "Sometimes he went to James Short's on
the Sand Ridge ; sometimes to Minter Graham's ;
sometimes to Bowlin Greene's ; sometimes to Jack
Armstrong's, and as often, perhaps, to Abel's or Ben
Herndon's. All of these men served him faithfully
and signally at one time and another, and to all
of them he was sincerely attached."
Lincoln found work after a time. Unexpectedly he
met John Calhoun of * Springfield, — the Calhoun
who subsequently became notorious for his efforts
to enslave Kansas. He became President of the
Lecompton Constitutional Convention, and disgraced
himself, by plans and tricks, to force slavery upon
Kansas. But when he met Abraham, he was engaged
in a more legitimate and honorable business ; he was
" Surveyor for Sangamon County."
"Try your hand at surveying," said Calhoun.
" I know nothing about it," answered Abraham.
256 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
"Learn, then."
" How can I do that ? "
" Easy enough if you want to do it."
" I do want to do it. I think I should like the
business, if I could qualify myself for it."
" You can, and in a few weeks, too. I will lend
you Flint and Gibson, the authors you will want to
study, and you can provide yourself with a compass
and chain, and I will render you any assistance I
can."
" You are very kind, Mr. Calhoun, and I will do the
best I can. Your generous offer shall not come
to nothing for want of my trying."
" You'll make a good surveyor, I'm sure of that,
and find plenty of business. And, what is more,
I will depute to you that portion of my field con-
tiguous to New Salem."
" It is more than I could expect of you," said
Lincoln. " I could not ask so great a favor."
"Take it without asking," said Calhoun, in a jolly
way. " I have much more than I can do, and I am
glad to give you a portion of the county. The great
influx of immigrants, and the consequent entry of
government lands, has given me more than my hands
full."
" I shall be glad to accept your offer as soon as
I am qualified for the business."
"The bargain is closed, then, and in six weeks
you can be surveying, if you're a mind to," said
Calhoun.
" I shall have a mind to, if that is all," replied
Lincoln ; " and with a thousand thanks, too, for your
UNSOUGHT HONORS. 2$?
assistance. It is worth all the more to me now,
because I am thrown out of business."
"Well, this will make business enough for you,
and it needs a long-legged, tough, wiry fellow like
you to do it well. This is a great country for sur-
veyors."
" But shall I not need to take some lessons of you
in the field when I get through the study."
" It will be a capital idea, and you are welcome to
all I can aid you any time you will come where I am.
It will give you a sweat to keep up with me."
" Perhaps so," replied Lincoln, looking very much
as if he did not believe it. The actual experiment
proved that the sweat was given to the other party.
Lincoln took Flint and Gibson, and went to Minter
Graham's, the schoolmaster, out of the village, and
spent six weeks in close study. Then after a few
lessons in the field with Calhoun, he set up as sur-
veyor, and soon found plenty of business, and good
pay ; and his friend Green concluded that the chance of
his making a lawyer was lost. " The accuracy of his
surveys was seldom, if ever, questioned. Disputes
regarding ' corners ' and ' lines ' were frequently sub-
mitted to his arbitration ; and the decision was in-
variably accepted as final."
When Abraham had leisure time, at this period of
his life, he made himself very useful. His sympathy
for the unfortunate, needy and suffering grew stronger
from year to year. That tumultuous element of
society that prevailed so alarmingly when he first went
to New Salem, he denounced more and more. When
troubles arose between two or more parties, he would
258 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
start up and say. " Let's go and stop it." Jack Arm-
strong had not lost altogether his love of cruel sport,
such as he indulged in when the " Clary Grove Boys "
were in power ; and he bargained with a drunken fel-
low, by the name of Jordan, to allow Jack to put him
into a hogshead and roll him down New Salem hill, as
once the " Boys " did with Scanlon and Solomon
Spears. Jack was to give the fellow a gallon of whis-
key, expecting to get more than the value of several
gallons of the vile stuff in fun out of the operation.
When Jack had the hogshead ready at the top of the
hill, and his victim was waiting to be headed up
within, Abraham, who had heard of the affair, came
rushing to the scene of action.
"Jack!" he shouted at the top of his voice, "stop
that game forthwith. No more such rascally tricks in
New Salem."
Jack cowered and looked cheap. "You'll send
Jordan into eternity before he gets to the foot of the
hill," Abraham continued. " You must stop such
cruelty, or you'll feel my long arms around you."
"Only a little fun," answered Jack.
"Fun!" exclaimed Abraham. "There'll be no
more such fun in New Salem so long as I live here."
And there was not. Jack was not cruel, and he was
one of Abraham's close friends ; and so was his wife,
Hannah. She said, a few years ago : " Abe would
come out to our house, about three miles, drink milk,
eat mush, corn-bread and butter, bring the children
candy, and rock the cradle while I got him something
to eat. . . He would tend babies and do any thing to
accommodate anybody."
UNSOUGHT HONORS. 259
On a cold winter day he saw Ab Trent cutting up
an old house for Mr. Hill into firewood. Ab was bare-
footed, and shivered with the cold.
"What do you get for that job?" Abraham in-
quired.
" One dollar," replied Ab ; " I want a pair of shoes,"
and he pointed to his almost frozen feet.
"■ Well, give me your axe," continued Abraham,
seizing it, "and you clear to the house where it is
warm."
Ab "cleared," glad to put his bare feet to a fire,
and Abraham cut up the " house " so quickly, that
" Ab and the owner were both amazed when they saw
it done."
About this time, Henry McHenry had a horse-race,
and he applied to Abraham to act ad judge.
" No ; I've done with that," replied Abraham.
" But you must," urged McHenry.
" I must not, and I will not," responded Abraham.,
with more emphasis. " This horse-racing business is
all wrong."
"Just this once; never'll ask you again," said Mc-
Henry.
"Well, remember, * just this once' it is," was Abra-
ham's conclusion. He acted as judge, and decided
correctly. The judge for the other side said, " Lin-
coln is the fairest man I ever had to deal with ; if
Lincoln is in this county when I die, I want him to
be my administrator, for he is the only man I ever
met with that was wholly and unselfishly honest."
This is another of the incidents that show how he
came to be known as "Honest Abe."
260 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
James Short, who lived four miles from New Salem,
says that Abraham often came to his house, and, if it
was a very busy time on the farm, "Abe would pull off
his roundabout and go to work with more energy than
any man I could hire. He was the best man at husk-
ing corn on the stock I ever saw. I used to consider
myself very good, but he would gather two loads to
my one."
In 1833, President Jackson appointed him postmas-
ter of New Salem, because he was better qualified for
the position than any man in the town. The post-
office was kept in Mr. Hill's store, the proprietor tak-
ing charge of it when Lincoln was engaged in survey-
ing or other business. When he was in the office, he
made himself useful by reading letters for parties who
could not read. He read all the newspapers received
at the office, and frequently read them aloud to an
ignorant assembly in front of the store.
A story which fastened itself to him in manhood was
that, when he was Postmaster in New Salem, he "carried
the office in his hat" Of course mail-matter at such
an office was light. Few letters were received ; and,
sometimes, when Lincoln was going out, he would put
the letters in his hat, that he might deliver them to
the parties addressed, should he meet them or go near
their residences. This novel arrangement discloses
both his kindness of heart and fidelity to trusts.
CHAPTER XX.
LAURELS WON.
EMBERS of the Legislature served xwq
years in Illinois, so that the next election
occurred in 1834. Lincoln was a candidate.
There was a Whig party then, and he was a
member of it. Yet many Democrats supported him
in the contest, so that he was elected by a larger ma-
jority than any other man on the ticket.
" Who is this man Lincoln I hear talked about for
the Legislature ? " inquired one Dr. Barrett, who was
a stranger to the candidate, but a friend of Herndon.
The question was put to the latter.
" Go to Berlin to-morrow, and you will learn who he
is ; he is going to speak there," Herndon replied.
Dr. Barrett was there promptly, and when the tall,
awkward, homely candidate was pointed out by Hern-
don, he said, —
" Can 't the party raise any better material than
that ! "
"Wait," answered Herndon, "until you hear his
speech before you pass judgment. He is our candi-
date, and good material enough for us."
" Well, if that fellow is qualified to go to the Legis-
262 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
lature, then his looks belie him ; that 's all," continued
Dr. Barrett.
He soon heard his speech, however ; and, at the
conclusion of it, Hernclon inquired, —
" Doctor, what do you think now ?"
" I give it up now. Why, sir, he is a perfect take-
in, — he knows more than all of them put together."
Lincoln received 1,376 votes, and was elected, caus-
ing great joy among his friends. Many who did not
vote for him were perfectly satisfied with his election.
Nor did he resort to the dishonorable means of getting
votes which some candidates employed, such as fur-
nishing a grog-shop for their use on election day, and
paying the bills. He utterly refused to promote his
own election by proffering the intoxicating cup,
although such was the custom.
The time between the election and the assembling
of the Legislature, Lincoln spent in*very close study,
that he might be better qualified to discharge his
duties in the State House.
One thing was indispensable if he would make a
respectable appearance in the Legislature ; he must
have a new suit of clothes, and some money for ex-
penses — much more than he possessed. His wants,
in this respect, were supplied in the following provi-
dential manner.
When he had charge of Offutt's store, in 1832, a
stranger entered one morning, and introduced himself
as Mr. Smoot. Lincoln jumped over the counter
and grasped the stranger's hand in his cordial way,
saying : —
" Glad to see you, Mr. Smoot. I have heard of you
LAURELS WON. • 263
often, but never had the pleasure of meeting you
before."
" And I am equally glad to meet you, Abe Lincoln,"
rejoined Mr. Smoot ; "I've heard so much about you
that I feel acquainted already."
Lincoln stood surveying him from head to foot,
looking for all the world as if the humor within him
would burst out, and finally remarked : —
" Smoot, I am very much disappointed in you ; I
expected to see a scaly specimen of humanity."
Smoot, equal to the occasion, replied : " Yes ; and
I am equally disappointed, for I expected to see a
good-looking man when I saw you."
This laid the foundation of lasting friendship be-
tween the two men ; and, when Lincoln was elected
to the Legislature, and needed clothes and money, he
knew that Smoot would loan him the amount. Taking
Hugh Armstrong with him, he went to his friend and
said : —
" Smoot, did you vote for me ? "
" Vote for you ? Of course I did."
" Well, do you want I should make a decent appear-
ance in the Legislature ? " added Lincoln.
" Certainly ; I don't expect you '11 make any other
appearance, though you are not as handsome as I am,"
responded Smoot, humorously.
" Then you will have to lend me some money ; I
must buy some decent clothes."
"That I can do without any trouble at all; a
nice suit of clothes may make a handsome man of
you," answered Smoot. " How much money do you
want?"
264 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" Two hundred dollars, and will pay you at the close
of the session."
Smoot lent him two hundred dollars upon his
word of honor, and he says, " Lincoln returned the
amount to me according to promise."
About this time, Lincoln was exposed to peculiar
temptations to infidelity, through associates and books.
Several of his boon companions were infidels ; and
they made light of religion and the Bible. At the
same time Paine's " Age of Reason," and Volney's
" Ruins," came into his hands, and he read them with
avidity. In these circumstances, his belief in the
Scriptures began to waver. He expressed his doubts
freely to others. He discussed the matter with inti-
mate friends ; and finally, he wrote an essay in which
his doubts of the divine authenticity of the Bible were
plainly expressed.
However, this proved but a freak of humanity, such
as often appears in the lives of smart young men ; for
his essay was soon cast aside forever ; and his early
familiarity with, and confidence in, the Scriptures,
asserted themselves, as the sequel will show.
It is not our purpose to tell what " Acts and Re-
solves " occupied Lincoln's attention, in the Legisla-
ture, during the session. Other things, bearing upon
his future career, demand the brief space we can
give this period. We may say, however, that he was
comparatively a silent member, observing and learn-
ing, though he was faithful and efficient on committees.
It was during the sitting of the Legislature that
Lincoln decided to study law, without waiting to be*
come seven feet high. It was op this wise.
LAURELS WON. 26$
He was thrown much into the society of Hon. John
T. Stuart, an eminent lawyer, from Springfield. This
gentleman was a close observer, and he soon discov-
ered that young Lincoln possessed unusual talents.
He had no doubt that he would make his mark, if he
could have the opportunity ; so he embraced a favor-
able time to advise him about studying law.
" Have you ever thought of studying law ? " Mr.
Stuart inquired, in a delicate manner.
" Never, though the subject has been named to me
by others," replied Lincoln.
" And why have you not entertained the suggestion
favorably ? "
" Because I have not talents enough to warrant such
a decision ; and then I have no means, even if I had
the talents."
" Perhaps you have too exalted views of the abilities
required. Let us see. Is there anything in the law
so intricate as to demand superior talents ? Does it
require more ability than medicine or theology ? No,
I think you will say. And then, if it did, perhaps the
future will reveal that you possess the talents for it."
" But then, a poor fellow like me, with no friends to
aid, can hardly think of going through a long course
of study."
"It is not very long after all, and there need not
be much expense about it, except for your board and
clothes."
" How can that be ? "
"You can read law by yourself, working at your
business of surveyor enough to board and clothe your-
self, and in less than three years be admitted to the
bar."
266 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
"But books are expensive, especially law-books."
" Very true ; but that difficulty is easily remedied.
You shall be welcome to my library. Come as often
as you please, and carry away as many books as you
please, and keep them as long as you please."
" You are very generous, indeed. I could never re-
pay you for such generosity."
" I don't ask any pay, my clear sir," responded Mr.
Stuart, shaking his sides with laughter. "And if I
did, it would be pay enough to see you pleading at the
bar."
" I am almost frightened at the thought of appear-
ing there," added Lincoln.
" You'd soon get over your fright, I reckon, and
bless your stars that you followed the advice of John
T. Stuart."
"I dare say."
"Only think of it," continued Mr. Stuart; "a
brighter prospect is before you than hundreds of dis-
tinguished men -enjoyed in early life, on account of the
advantages offered to you. You are a * Clay man,' and
you now have the offer of better opportunities to rise
than he had when he left his mother's log cabin. All
the schooling he ever enjoyed was in his boyhood,
when he went to school to Peter Deacon, in a log
school-house without a window or floor. All the
learning he acquired after that was by industry and
perseverance, improving every leisure moment, and
extending his studies far into the night."
" I don't see but he had as good advantages in his
early life as I did," interrupted Lincoln.
" That is so ; and there is much in your history that
LAURELS WON. 267
reminds me of his. I suppose that is what suggested
the comparison to me. You have a right to be a ' Clay
man.' One would scarcely have thought, when he
was seen riding his mother's old horse, without a sad-
dle, and with a rope for a bridle, on his way to mill
with a grist on the horse's back, that he — ' The Mill
Boy of the Slashes,' as he was called — would become
one of the most renowned men of the land."
" That is so ; and I admire the man for his noble
efforts to rise in the world. He made himself just
what he became," said Lincoln.
" And that is what you, and every other young man,
will do, if you ever make a mark. ' Self-made, or never
made,' is the adage. It is of little consequence what
advantages a youth possesses, unless he is disposed to
improve them ; and I am almost of the opinion that it
matters but little how few the privileges a young man
enjoys, if he only possesses the energy and industry
to make the most of them."
" And the ability, you might add," suggested Lin-
coln.
" Perhaps so, if you choose. But the history of our
country abounds with examples of these self-made
men, as poor and unknown as Henry Clay was. But
now I must go ; remember my counsel, and decide
rightly."
" Many thanks for your interest," answered Lincoln.
" I "shall ponder the subject, and feel grateful to you,
whether I decide as you recommend or not."
Lincoln decided to study law. He concluded that
he must possess some ability for the legal profession
when such a man as Mr. Stuart advised him to enter
268 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
it. More than any other influence, the counsel of Mr.
Stuart determined him to become a lawyer.
There was much joy among Lincoln's friends hi
New Salem when they learned of his wise decision.
All were ready to render him any assistance possible.
His own familiar associates soon found that his studies
would interfere constantly with that social intercourse
which they had enjoyed so much. To pursue his
studies, while earning a livelihood by surveying, would
require an amount of industry, perseverance and self-
denial of which they understood but little.
" I am as fond of society as either of you," remarked
Lincoln to several of his companions who were discuss-
ing the question together at one time; "but I must
deny myself this enjoyment, if I would succeed in my
plans. It is pretty clear that I must do two things : I
must practise economy of time and money, and be as
industrious as possible."
" A solemn view of the future," remarked Alley, in
a playful way.
" And a correct one, too, I guess," said Green.
" Correct or not," responded Lincoln, " it is the
course I have' mapped out for myself, and I must not
depart from it."
This decision was in response to an appeal to engage
in a definite pastime that would interrupt his studies
for a whole evening.
" I shall walk to Springfield and back to-morrow,"
he continued. " Esquire Stuart has offered to loan
me law-books, and I shall go for some to-morrow."
Here is an illustration of his self-denial, and the
decision with which he adhered to his purpose. He
LAURELS WON. 269
canvassed the whole subject in the beginning, and he
resolved to spend no evenings in social entertain-
ments. He saw that he must do it from sheer neces-
sity, as he would be obliged to use up the night hours
much more economically than the laws of health
would permit. And now he was inflexible. His pur-
pose was fixed, and no allurements or promises of
pleasure could make him swerve a hair's breadth
therefrom.
Springfield was twenty-two miles from New Salem,
and yet Lincoln walked there and back on the day
proposed. He made a long day of it, and a wearisome
one, too. On the following evening Green called upon
him, to learn how he succeeded.
" What ! " he exclaimed. " Did you bring all these
books home in your arms ?" They were Blackstone's
Commentaries, in four volumes.
" Yes ; and read forty pages of the first volume on
the way," Lincoln replied. " Come, now, just examine
me on the first volume."
He had a faculty of perusing a volume when he was
walking, and he often did it. He gained time thereby.
" I don't see what you are made of to endure so,"
continued Green. " It would use me all up to carry
such a load a quarter part of that distance."
" I am used to it, you know, and that makes the
difference. But, come, just see what I know about
the first part of that volume." And he passed the
first volume to him.
" If you pass muster, you'll want I should admit you
to the bar, I suppose," responded Green. "That I
shall be glad to do."
270 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
So he proceeded to examine Lincoln on the first
volume ; and he found, to his surprise, that he was well
posted on the forty pages read. By his close atten-
tion, and the ability to concentrate his thoughts, he
readily made what he read his own.
Thus Lincoln began and continued the study ol
law, alternating his time between surveying and study,
going to Springfield for books as often as it was neces-
sary, and often pursuing his reading of law far into the
night.
With such devotion did he employ his time in study
and manual labor, denying himself much that young
men generally consider essential, that he might have
said, as Cicero said of himself : "What others give to
public shows and entertainments, to festivity, to
amusements, nay, even to mental and bodily rest, I
give to study and philosophy." Even when he was
engaged in the fields surveying, his thoughts were
upon his books, so that much which he learned at
night was fastened in his mind by day. He might
have adopted the language of Cicero concerning him-
self : "Even my leisure hours have their occupation."
Sometimes he was engaged days and weeks together
in surveying, having only his nights in which to
study ; and then, again, he had both day and night to
give to his books for a time. Nor did his interest
abate in the least ; it rather increased than otherwise.
The longer he studied, the more deeply absorbed
he became in his books. His robust physical con-
stitution enabled him to endure hard toil both of
body and mind, otherwise he would have broken
down.
LAURELS WON. 27 1
He served his constituents so faithfully in the Leg-
islature, that he was renominated for the position
in 1836. He had grown so rapidly in mental power,
that, in this campaign, his speeches were of high
order. R. L. Wilson, who was a Representative elect
with Lincoln, says : —
" The Saturday evening preceding the election, the
candidates were addressing the people in the Court
House at Springfield. Dr. Early, one of the candi-
dates on the Democratic side, made some charge that
N. W. Edwards, one of the candidates on the Whig
side, deemed untrue. Edwards climbed on a table, so
as to be seen by Early and by every one in the house,
and at the top of his voice told Early that the charge
was false. The excitement that followed was intense,
— so much so, that fighting men thought a duel must
settle the difficulty. Mr. Lincoln, by the programme,
followed Early. He took up the subject in dispute,
and handled it fairly, and with such ability, that every
one was astonished and pleased. So that difficulty
ended there. Then for the first time, developed by
the excitement of the occasion, he spoke in that tenor
intonation of voice, that ultimately settled down into
a clear, shrill, monotonous style of speaking, that
enabled his audience, however large, to hear distinctly
the lowest sound of his voice."
Lincoln was followed in that meeting by George
Forquer, who was a prominent Whig member of the
Legislature in 1834, but left his party for the sake of
getting the berth of Register of the Land Office at
Springfield. He was a wily politician, ready to
change front at any time, and to resort to political
272 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
tricks for the sake of office. Forquer assailed Lincoln
bitterly, and began his speech by saying, "the young
man must be taken down." Lincoln stood by and
listened to every word. As soon as Forquer closed
his tirade, Lincoln mounted the platform, and replied
"with great dignity and force," closing his speech
thus: —
" The gentleman says ' this young man must be
taken down.' It is for you, not for me, to say whether
I am up or down. The gentleman has alluded to my
being a young man ; I am older in years than I am in
the tricks and trades of politicians. I desire to live,
and I desire place and distinction as a politician ; but
I would rather die now, than, like the gentleman, live
to see the day that I would have to erect a lightning-
rod to protect a guilty conscience from an offended
God." This termination of his speech convulsed the
audience, and they roared with laughter, and cheered,
at Forquer's expense.
In the Legislature of 1836-37, Lincoln found him-
self associated with many men who became great in
public life thereafter — Stephen A. Douglas, James
Shields, John A. McClernand, Dan Stone, Edward D.
Baker, John J. Hardin, and a dozen others of ec[ual
ability.
There were nine Representatives from Sangamon
County, and not one of them was less than six feet
high. Lincoln was the tallest of the number. Mem-
bers of the Legislature dubbed them "The Long
Nine ;" and they said, " Lincoln is the longest."
Lincoln's second term in the Legislature brought
him face to face with the Slavery question. The
LAURELS WON. 273
"Abolitionists" had been busily at work, scattering
anti-slavery literature North and South, lecturing in
the Free States upon the sin and curse of Slavery,
and agitating the subject in every possible way. The
State governments, even at the North, were bent on
suppressing these "agitators," as they were called.
Even the governors of Massachusetts and New York
denounced them, as if they were more dangerous than
horse-thieves. The bitterest feeling prevailed against
them in Illinois ; and one of their leaders, Rev. E. P.
Lovejoy, who published an anti-slavery paper at
Alton, in that State, was shot while defending his
printing-office against the attacks of a pro-slavery
mob.
In these circumstances, the Democratic party of
Illinois, largely in the majority in the Legislature,
waxed bold and violent. In the great excitement
they introduced a series of resolutions against "abo-
litionists," and in favor of Slavery, that would have
been a disgrace to any Slave State. They sought to
intimidate and lash the Whigs into the support of the
infamous measures ; and they succeeded with most of
them except Abraham Lincoln. He denounced the
resolutions and the party which introduced them. He
spoke against them, and voted against them ; and he
drew one Whig to his side — Dan Stone — who stood
with him fearlessly to the end. And when the House
finally adopted them, these two members presented a
carefully prepared protest against the measure, as
"injustice" and " bad policy," and asked to have it
entered, in their name, upon the journal of the House.
His good fight for Freedom in the House, from 1836
274 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
to 1838, put him before the State and the country
as a fearless and powerful opponent of the slave
system.
It was during this legislative term that an act was
passed, removing the capital from Vandalia to Spring-
field ; and the prime mover in it was Lincoln. To
him was credited the success of the measure, which
proved of great value to the State.
Lincoln was admitted to the bar in 1837, and, soon
after, removed to Springfield, and became the partner
of John T. Stuart, his benefactor, in the practice of
law, and he boarded with Hon. William Butler. In
New Salem, for two years before, "he wrote deeds,
contracts, notes, and other legal papers for his neigh-
bors; and ' pettifogged ' before the justice of the peace;
but in all this he was only trying himself, and never
charged a penny for his services."
In 1838, he was elected, for a third term, to the
House of Representatives, by a larger majority than
ever. He was candidate for Speaker at this term ; but
the Democrats being largely in the ascendancy elected
their candidate. An incident is related by Mr. Wilson,
connected with the campaign that preceded the elec-
tion of 1838, illustrative of Lincoln's decided temper-
ance principles. Mr. Wilson accompanied him in his
stumping tours, and he says : " At that time it was
the universal custom to keep some whiskey in the
house, for private use and to treat friends. The sub-
ject was always mentioned as a matter of etiquette,
but with the remark to Mr. Lincoln: 'You never
drink, but may be your friend would like to take a lit-
tle.' I never saw Mr. Lincoln drink. He often told
LAURELS WON. 27$
me that he never drank ; had no desire to drink, nor
for the companionship of drinking men."
During that campaign, a dinner was tendered to the
" Long Nine," at Athens ; where, in response to the
toast, " Abraham Lincoln, one of Nature's noble-
men," he delivered one of his ablest speeches. It was
universally agreed that the toast was a deserved com-
pliment.
Before Lincoln removed to Springfield, he was in-
vited by the " Young Men's Lyceum " of that town,
to deliver a literary lecture before them. The invita-
tion shows that he had won a wide reputation, although
he was only twenty-eight years of age, and only six
years removed from the log-cabin that he built for his
father in Macon County. His subject, on that occa-
sion, was : " The Perpetuation of Our Free Institu-
tions." He handled it in a manner that showed the
familiarity of a statesman with the genius and history
of Republican institutions.
Lincoln was re-elected once more to the House of
Representatives in 1840. The campaign was a very
hot one, the Democrats in several localities making
violent demonstrations. Colonel E. D. Baker was
making a speech to a promiscuous assembly in the
court-room at Springfield, when the Democrats pro-
posed to " pull him off the stage." A riot was impend-
ing, when Lincoln threw himself between his friend
and the audience, exclaiming : —
"Gentlemen! let us not disgrace the age and
country in which we live. This is a land where free-
dom of speech is guaranteed. Mr. Baker has a right to
speak, and ought to be permitted to do so. I am here
276 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
to protect him, and no man shall take him from this
stand, if I can prevent it." Mr. Baker proceeded
without interruption thereafter.
There was a very troublesome member in that
Legislature from Wabash County. He was frequently
upon his feet opposing measures on the ground of
" unconstitutionality." His stereotyped cry against this
and that measure was "unconstitutional." Lincoln
was deputed to silence him ; and he soon enjoyed the
opportunity. A measure was introduced, in which
Lincoln's constituents were specially interested. The
member from Wabash immediately arose, and ex-
pended his utmost energies upon its " unconstitutional"
features, although others could not discover them. Mr.
Lincoln arose and said : —
" Mr. Speaker, the attack of the member from Wabash
upon the unconstitutionality of this measure reminds
me of an old friend of mine. He is a peculiar-looking
old fellow, with shaggy, overhanging eyebrows, and a
pair of spectacles under them. (Here every member
turned to the man from Wabash, and recognized
a personal description.) One morning, just after the
old man got up, he imagined he saw a squirrel on a
tree near his house. So he took down his rifle, and
fired at the squirrel, but the squirrel paid no attention
to the shot. He loaded and fired again and again,
until, at the thirteenth shot, he set down his gun
impatiently, and said to his boy, who was looking on,
'Boy, there's something wrong about this rifle.' 'Rifle's
all right, I know 'tis,' responded the boy, ' but where's
your squirrel ? 'Don't you see him, humped up about
half-way up the tree ? ' inquired the old man, peering
LAURELS WON. 277
over his spectacles, and getting mystified. 'No, I
don't,' responded the boy ; and then turning and look-
ing into his father's face, he exclaimed, 'I see your
squirrel. You've been firing at a louse on your eye-
brow ! ' "
The House was convulsed with laughter, and the
member from Wabash dropped his ■" unconstitutional"
dodge.
Mr. Lincoln grew rapidly in public favor as a lawyer,
and within ten years after he left his log-cabin home,
in Macon County, citizens of Springfield would point
him out to strangers on the street, and say : " One of
the ablest lawyers in Illinois."
His partnership with Mr. Stuart terminated in
1840, and he soon after associated himself with Judge
S. T. Logan. He married Miss Mary Todd, daughter
of Honorable Robert S. Todd of Lexington, Kentucky,
in 1842, when he was thirty-three years of age.
The fruits of this marriage were four sons, viz.
Robert, Edwards, William, and Thomas. Edwards
died in infancy ; William died at the age of twelve years
in Washington ; Thomas died in Illinois at the age of
twenty ; and Robert is now our honored secretary
of war at Washington.
Soon after his marriage he wrote two letters, which
so reveal his strong friendships as well as his simplicity
of character, that we quote a brief extract from each.
The first he wrote to his old friend, J. F. Speed of
Louisville, Kentucky, and in addition to the character-
istics of the man which it reveals, it discloses some-
what his humble mode of living. " We are not keep-
ing house, but boarding at the Globe Tavern, which is
278 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
very well kept now by a widow by the name of Beck.
Boarding only costs four dollars a week. I most
heartily wish you and your Fanny will not fail to come.
Just let us know the time a week in advance, and we
will have a room prepared for you, and we '11 be merry
together for a while."
The other letter was penned to newly married
friends in another State, about a month after his own
marriage. " I have no way of telling you how much
happiness I wish you both, though I believe you both
can conceive it. I feel somewhat jealous of both of you
now, for you will be so exclusively concerned for one
another, that I shall be forgotten entirely. I regret
to learn that you have resolved not to return to
Illinois : I shall be very lonesome without you. How
miserably things seem to be arranged in this world ! If
we have no friends we have no pleasure, and if we
have them, we are sure to lose them, and be doubly
pained by the loss. I did hope she and you would
make your home here, yet I own I have no right to
insist. You owe obligations to her ten thousand times
more sacred than any you can owe to others, and in
that light let them be respected and observed. It is
natural that she should desire to remain with her rela-
tives and friends. As to friends, she could not need
them anywhere : — she would have them in abundance
here. Write me often, and believe me, yours forever,
Lincoln." His heart was in his pen, as it usually was
in his hand.
CHAPTER XXI.
A SUCCESSFUL LAWYER.
!HEN Lincoln commenced the practice of law
he was too poor to own a horse and saddle-
bags. He was obliged to borrow this outfit
of a friend, until he scraped together enough
money to purchase one.
" But why did he need a horse and saddle-bags?"
the reader will ask.
At that time, the Court went to the clients instead
of the clients going to the Court. That is, Court
business was laid out in Circuits ; and the Court trav-
elled from place to place, holding sessions, and trans-
acting such business as the locality brought to it.
Lincoln was in the " Eighth Judicial Circuit " of
Illinois ; and for several years travelled over it on
horseback, with no other outfit than the contents of
his saddle-bags and a cotton umbrella. A longer or
shorter period was occupied in completing the "Cir-
cuit," according to the amount of business brought to
the Court. Lincoln was sometimes absent three
months from home on the Circuit. During one of
these long absences, his wife had a second story and
new roof put upon their house, as a surprise to him.
28o PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
It was nicely finished when he returned. Coming in
front of his old home, he sat upon his horse surveying
the changed habitation, and pretending not to recog-
nize it, he called to a man across the street : —
"Stranger, can you tell me where Lincoln lives?
He used to live here."
When he got a little more of this world's goods,
he set up a one-horse buggy, — a very sorry and shabby-
looking affair, which he generally used when the weather
promised to be bad. But the lawyers were always glad
to see him, and the landlords hailed his coming with
pleasure.
Honesty, kindness, generosity, fairness, justice, and
kindred qualities, distinguished him in the practice of
law. A whole volume of incidents might be related,
illustrating these qualities of the man, but a few only
can be given.
A stranger called to secure his services.
" State your case," said Mr. Lincoln. The man
stated it at considerable length, when Lincoln sur-
prised him by saying : —
"I cannot serve you; for you are wrong and the
other party is right."
"That is none of your business, if I hire and pay you
for taking the case," retorted the man.
" Not my business ! " exclaimed Lincoln. " My
business is never to defend wrong if I am a lawyer.
I never take a case that is manifestly wrong."
" Well, you can make trouble for the fellow," added
the applicant.
"Yes," responded Lincoln, "there is no reasonable
doubt but that I can gain the case for you. I can set a
A SUCCESSFUL LAWYER. 28 1
whole neighborhood at loggerheads ; I can distress a
widowed mother and her six fatherless children, and
thereby get for you six hundred dollars, which right-
fully belongs as much to the woman and her children
as it does to you. But I won't do it."
" Not for any amount of pay ? " inquired the man.
" Not for all you are worth," replied Lincoln. " You
must remember that some things which are legally
right are not morally right. I shall not take your
case."
"I don't care a snap whether you do or not," angrily
replied the man, starting to go ; " there are other law-
yers in the State."
" I'll give you a piece of advice without charge,"
added Lincoln. "You seem to be a sprightly, ener-
getic man. I would advise you to try your hand at
making six hundred dollars some other way."
One afternoon an old colored woman came into the
office of Lincoln and Herndon * to tell her sad story.
She was once the slave of one Hinkle in Kentucky,
who brought herself and children into Illinois, and
made them free. Her son had gone down to New
Orleans on a steamer, and very imprudently went
ashore, when the police arrested him, under a State
law that authorized the seizure and sale of free negroes
from other States ; and he would be sold back into
slavery unless immediately redeemed. Lincoln's sym-
pathetic nature was deeply stirred, and his indignation
was also aroused.
"Run over to the State House and ask Governor
* Lincoln terminated partnership with Judge Logan in 1845,
and then associated himself with William H. Herndon, Esq.
282 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
Bissell if something cannot be done to obtain pos-
session of the negro," he said to Mr. Herndon.
The inquiry was soon made, and Herndon returned
to say: "The governor says that he has no legal or
constitutional right to do anything in the premises."
Lincoln was thoroughly aroused by this feature of
inhumanity which the legal status disclosed, and start-
ing to his feet, and raising his long, right arm heaven-
ward, he exclaimed: —
" By the Almighty's help, I'll have the negro back
soon, or I'll have a twenty years' agitation in Illinois,
until the governor does have a legal and constitutional
right to do something in the premises."
He and his partner immediately sent money of their
own to a New Orleans correspondent, who procured
the negro and returned him to his mother.
A person applied to Colonel E. D. Baker, who after-
wards became United States Senator from Oregon,
for aid in behalf of a fugitive slave.
"I'm sorry that I cannot serve you," Colonel Baker
replied ; " I should be glad to help the fugitive, but,
as a political man, I cannot afford it."
The applicant then sought the advice of an ardent
anti-slavery friend, who said : —
"Go to Lincoln; he's not afraid of an unpopular
case. When I go for a lawyer to defend an arrested
fugitive slave, other lawyers will refuse me, but if Mr
Lincoln is at home, he will always take my case."
Judge Treat furnishes the following : —
" A case being called for hearing in the court, Mr.
Lincoln stated that he appeared for the appellant, and
was ready to proceed with the argument. He then
A SUCCESSFUL LAWYER. 283
said : ' This is the first case I have ever had in this
court, [it was just after he was admitted to practice in
the Circuit Court of the United States, Dec. 3d, 1839,]
and I have therefore examined it with great care. As
the court will perceive, by looking at the abstract of
the record, the only question in the case is one of
authority. I have not been able to find any authority
to sustain my side of the case, but I have found several
cases directly in point on the other side. I will now
give these cases, and then submit the case.' '
One lawyer, who could not understand that the
true purpose of a court is to " establish justice," re-
marked, "The fellow is crazy."
Once, in a closely-contested civil suit, he found him-
self upon the wrong side of the case. His client had
misrepresented the case, being " a slippery fellow."
Lincoln succeeded in proving an account for his client,
when the opposing attorney then " proved a receipt
covering the entire cause of action." By the time he
was through, Lincoln had disappeared from the court-
room. The court sent to the hotel for him. " Tell
the Judge," said Lincoln, "that I can't come: my
hands are dirty > and I came over to clean them."
In the celebrated Patterson trial, a case of murder,
Lincoln and Swett were counsel for the accused.
After hearing the testimony, Lincoln was satisfied
that the accused was guilty, and calling his colleague
into another room, he said : —
"Swett, the man is guilty."
" No doubt about that," Swett replied.
"And you must defend him; I can't."
Swett promised to do it, and he did it so well that
284 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
he saved the guilty man from justice. They received
a thousand dollars for services ; but Lincoln declined
to take a cent of it.
At another time, he was defending a man indicted
for larceny ; and, being satisfied by the evidence that
the accused was guilty, he called aside his colleagues,
Parks and Young, and said : " He is guilty. If you
can say anything for him, do it ; I can't. If I attempt,
the jury will see that I think he is guilty, and convict
him, of course."
He conducted a suit against a railroad company, and
damages were awarded to him. The railroad com-
pany proved, and the court allowed, a certain offset ;
and when the court was footing the amount, Lincoln
arose and stated that his opponents had not proved
all that was justly due them in offset, and proceeded
to prove and allow a further offset against his client.
His purpose was to establish "exact justice." Some-
times, however, his sympathy for a poor fellow who
was in danger of the penitentiary or gallows, caused
him to overlook "exact justice," as we have seen.
A woman called upon him to secure his services to
prosecute a real-estate claim ; and she put a check fof
two hundred and fifty dollars into his hand as a retain-
ing fee.
" I will look the case over, and see what can be
done," said Mr. Lincoln. " You may call to-morrow."
The woman called as requested on the next day. " I
am obliged to say that there is not a peg on which to
hang your claim," Mr. Lincoln said to her.
"How so?" she inquired, with not a little disap-
pointment.
A SUCCESSFUL LAWYER. 285
He explained the case to her satisfaction, and she
started to go.
"Wait a minute," he urged, fumbling in his pocket ;
"here is the check you left with me."
" But, Mr. Lincoln, that belongs to you ; you have
earned it," she answered.
"No, no, no," responded Mr. Lincoln; "that would
not be right. I can't take pay for doing my duty."
And he insisted that she should take the check.
The testimony of his legal associates, at this point, is
interesting. Mr. Gillespie says : " Mr. Lincoln's love
of justice and fair play was his predominating trait. I
have often listened to him when I thought he would
state his case out of court. It was not in his nature
to assume, or to attempt to bolster up, a false position.
He would abandon his case first. He did so in the
case of Buckmaster for the use of Denham vs. Beenes
and Arthur, in our Supreme Court, in which I hap-
pened to be opposed to him. Another gentleman,
less fastidious, took Mr. Lincoln's place, and gained
the case."
S. C. Parks, Esq., says: "I have often said, that,
for a man who was for a quarter of a century both a
lawyer and politician, he was the most honest man I
ever knew. He was not only morally honest, but in-
tellectually so. He could not reason falsely ; if he
attempted it, he failed. In politics he never would
try to mislead. At the bar, when he found he was
wrong, he was the weakest lawyer I ever saw."
His old friend, Jack Armstrong, of New Salem,
whose kind, good wife darned his stockings, made his
shirts, and " got him something to eat while he rocked
286 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE,
the baby," died not long after Lincoln settled in
Springfield. The baby whom he rocked had grown
into a stout but profligate young man of twenty-two
years, — William D. Armstrong, — and he was arrested
for murder. The circumstances were as follows : —
At a camp meeting in Mason County, several fast
young men became intoxicated, and then engaged in a
"free fight," in which one Metzgar was killed. Arm-
strong and James H. Norris were charged with the
murder. Norris was " tried in Mason County, con-
victed of manslaughter, and sentenced to the peniten-
tiary for the term of eight years."
" Aunt Hannah," as Lincoln used to call his old
benefactress, was plunged into terrible sorrow for her
misguided son. She scarcely knew what to do. But,
in her great grief, she recalled one who would come
to her aid if possible — "the noble, good Abe," who
rocked her Billy when he was a baby in the cradle.
She sat down and wrote to Lincoln, telling him of her
anguish, and beseeching him to help her boy if pos-
sible. The appeal brought tears to Lincoln's eyes,
and enlisted his whole soul to save the accused for the
sake of his mother. Now was the time for him to re-
quite the many kindnesses " Aunt Hannah " showed
him under her humble roof. He sat down and wrote
to her an affirmative answer, at the same time encour-
aging her to hope for the best, and asking her to come
to Springfield at once. He pledged his services, also,
gratuitously.
Lincoln's letter was like a promise from the skies to
" Aunt Hannah." Her almost broken heart took
courage, and away she hastened to Springfield, the
A SUCCESSFUL LAWYER. 287
benefactress seeking a benefactor in the once poor boy
she helped in her humble abode.
"Aunt Hannah" believed that hei boy was not
guilty of murder — that the fatal blow was not struck
by him, but by another — that others sought to fasten
the crime upon him because of his bad reputation. At
the close of the interview, Lincoln was of the same
opinion ; or, at least, thought there was no positive
evidence that her son was the murderer. His heart
was so thoroughly moved for the old lady, that he
resolved to save her boy from the gallows if possible.
The excitement was intense, and everybody seemed
willing to believe that Armstrong killed Metzgar.
Lincoln saw that it would be well-nigh impossible to
secure an impartial jury in these circumstances, and
he said to Mrs. Armstrong : —
" We must have the case put off if possible, until
the excitement dies away."
"And let my son lie in prison all the while," Mrs.
Armstrong answered, as if horrified by the thought
that he should be incarcerated so long.
" There is no other alternative. Better that than
to be condemned and executed in advance," Lincoln
rejoined calmly.
" True, very true ; but I'm impatient to see him free
again."
" That is not strange at all, but I am satisfied that
the case cannot be conducted so favorably for him now,
when the public mind is so excited."
" I understand you exactly," responded Mrs. Arm-
strong, "and shall agree to any decision you make. The
case is in your hands, and you will conduct it as you
think best."
288 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
"Another thing too," added Lincoln, " I need more
time to unravel the affair. I want to produce evidence
that shall vindicate William, to the satisfaction of
every reasonable man."
Lincoln secured the postponement of the trial until
the following spring ; and he spent much time, in
the interval, in tracing evidence, laboring as assidu-
ously to pay his old debt of gratitude as he would
have done under the offer of a fee of five thousand
dollars.
The time for the trial arrived, and it drew together a
crowd of interested people, nor were they under so
much excitement as they were when the case was
postponed. The " sober second thought " had moder-
ated their feelings, and they were in a better frame of
mind to judge impartially.
The witnesses for the State were introduced ; some
to testify of Armstrong's previous vicious character,
and others to relate what they saw of the affair on the
night of the murder. His accuser testified in the
most positive manner that he saw him make the
dreadful thrust that felled his victim.
" Could there be no mistake in regard to the person
who struck the blow ? " asked the counsel for the
defence.
" None at all : I am confident of that," replied the
witness.
" What time in the evening was it ? "
" Between ten and eleven o'clock."
" Well, about how far between ? Was it quarter-
past ten or half-past ten o'clock, or still later? Be
more exact, if you please."
A SUCCESSFUL LAWYER. 289
•* I should think it might have been about half-past
ten o'clock," answered the witness.
" And you are confident that you saw the prisoner
at the bar give the blow? Be particular in your
testimony, and remember that you are under oath."
" I am ; there can be no mistake about it."
" Was it not dark ? "
" Yes ; but the moon was shining brightly."
"Then it was not very dark, as there was a
moon ? "
" No ; the moon made it light enough for me to see
the whole affair."
" Be particular on this point. Do I understand you
to say that the murder was committed about half-past
ten o'clock, and that the moon was shining brightly at
the time ? "
" Yes, that is what I testify."
"Very well; that is all."
His principal accuser was thus positive in his testi-
mony, and the sagacious attorney saw enough therein
to destroy his evidence.
After the witnesses for the State had been called,
the defence introduced a few, to show that young
Armstrong had borne a better character than some of
the witnesses gave him, and also that his accuser had
been his personal enemy, while the murdered young
man was his personal friend.
The counsel for the Commonwealth considered that
the evidence was too strong against Armstrong to
admit of a reasonable doubt of his guilt; therefore, his
plea was short and formal.
All eyes were now turned to Lincoln. What could
290 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE,
he say for the accused, in the face of such testimony?
Few saw any possible chance for Armstrong to escape :
his condemnation was sure.
Mr. Lincoln rose, while a deeply impressive stillness
reigned throughout the court-room. The prisoner sat
with a worried, despairing look, such as he had worn
ever since his arrest. When he was led into the court-
room, a most melancholy expression sat upon his brow,
as if he were forsaken by every friend, and the evidence
presented was not suited to produce a change for the
better.
His counsel proceeded to review the testimony, and
called attention particularly to the discrepancies in the
statements of the principal witness. What had seemed
to the multitude as plain, truthful statements he showed
to be wholly inconsistent with other parts of the
testimony, indicating a plot against an innocent man.
Then, raising his clear, full voice to a higher key, and
lifting his long, wiry right arm above his head, as if
about to annihilate his client's accuser, he exclaimed :
" And he testifies that the moon was shining brightly
when the deed was perpetrated, between the hours of
ten and eleven o'clock, when the moon did not appear
on that night, as your Honor's almanac will show, until
an hour or more later, and consequently the whole story
is a fabrication."
The audience were carried by this sudden overthrow
of the accuser's testimony, and they were now as bitter
against the principal witness as they were before
against the accused.
Lincoln continued in a strain of singular eloquence,
portraying the loneliness and sorrow of the widowed
It ts not Sundown, and volt ark Frer." — Page 291.
A SUCCESSFUL LA WYE/?, 291
mother, whose husband, long since gathered to his
fathers, and his good companion with the silver locks,
welcomed a strange and penniless boy to their humble
abode, dividing their scanty store with him, and,
pausing, and exhibiting much emotion — "that boy
stands before you now pleading for the life of his
benefactor's son — the staff of the widow's declining
years." The effect was electric ; and eyes unused to
weep shed tears as rain. With unmistakable expres-
sions of honest sympathy around him, Lincoln closed
his remarkable plea with the words, " If justice is done,
as I believe it will be, before the sun sets, it will shine
upon my client a free man."
The jury returned to the court-room, after thirty
minutes of retirement, with the verdict of " Not
Guilty." Turning to his client, Lincoln said, " It is
not sundown, and you are free ! "
A shout of joy went up from the crowded assembly;
and the aged mother, who had retired when the case
was given to the jury, was brought in with tears of
gratitude streaming down her cheeks, to receive her
acquitted boy, and thank her noble benefactor for his
successful effort.
" Where is Mr. Lincoln ?" she asked. And from her
saved boy, she pressed her way through the crowd to
him, and, seizing his hand convulsively, attempted to
express her gratitude, but utterance was impossible.
Tears only told how full her heart was. Lincoln
answered only with tears for a few moments. At
length, however, controlling his feelings, he said : —
" Aunt Hannah, what did I tell you ? I pray to God
that William may be a good boy hereafter — that this
292 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
lesson may prove in the end a good lesson to him and
to all."
Subsequently, Lincoln went to see her at her home,
when she pressed him to take pay for his services.
"Why, Aunt Hannah, I shan't take a cent of yours
— never. Anything I can do for you, I will do willingly,
and without any charge."
Months after this, Lincoln heard that some men were
trying to defraud her of land, and he wrote to her : —
"Aunt Hannah, they can't have your land. Let
them try it in the Circuit Court, and then you appeal
it ; bring it to the Supreme Court, and Herndon and I
will attend to it for nothing."
This William Armstrong, whom Lincoln saved from
the gallows, enlisted in the Union army, in response to
Abraham Lincoln's first call for seventy-five thousand
volunteers. Two years later, his mother wrote to
President Lincoln that she wanted her boy. She did
not speak of any disability, only said that she wanted
him. But that was enough for Mr. Lincoln, who had
not yet fully paid his old debt of gratitude to his early
benefactress, as he thought. He ordered the discharge
of her son, and wrote the following brief epistle to her
with his own hand : —
September, 1863.
Mrs. Hannah Armstrong, — I have just ordered the dis-
charge of your boy William, as you say, now at Louisville, Ky.
A lawyer was associated with Lincoln in this case,
Mr. Walker, and he says of his plea : —
" At first he spoke slowly, and carefully reviewed
the whole testimony, — picked it all to pieces, and
A SUCCESSFUL LAWYER. 293
showed that the man had not received his wounds at
the place or time named by the witnesses, but after*
wards, and at the hands of some one else .... He
skilfully untied here and there a knot, and loosened
here and there a peg, until fairly getting warmed up,
he raised himself in his full power, and shook the
arguments of his opponents from him as if they were
cobwebs .... The last fifteen minutes of his speech
was as eloquent as I ever heard ; and such the
power and earnestness with which he spoke to that
jury, that all sat as if entranced, and when he was
through, found relief in a gush of tears." Even one
of the prosecutors said, " He took the jury by storm.
There were tears in Mr. Lincoln's eyes while he
spoke, but they Were genuine. His sympathies were
fully enlisted for the young man, and his terrible
sincerity could not help but arouse the same passion
in the jury. I have said a hundred times that it
was Lincoln's speech that saved Armstrong from the
gallows."
By this time, old Mrs. Armstrong must have realized
the full, deep significance of the divine promise, " Cast
thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after
many days."
In his circuit practice, Lincoln devoted himself to
self-improvement, by taking books with him — reading-
books, his grammar, arithmetic and Shakespeare.
He read and studied much when riding. The
finest passages of Shakespeare were committed
in these travels ; and he would sometimes stop by the
way, and recite them to strangers whom he met.
Out of court, during his absence on circuit business,
2gA PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
H found considerable time to pore over his books, so
' hat little of his time was lost.
Soon after he began the practice of law, he com-
menced to remit money to his poor parents. There
was a mortgage of two hundred dollars on his father's
little farm, and he paid it. His foster-brother, John
Johnston, was poor and needy, and he assisted him,
also. John was shiftless and lazy, and Lincoln once
wrote to him, " I now promise you, that, for every
dollar you will, between this and the first of next May,
get for your own labor, either in money or as your
own indebtedness, I will then give you one other
dollar. By this, if you hire yourself at ten dollars a
month, from me you will get ten more, making
twenty dollars a month for your work." He visited
his parents, also, as often as was consistent with his
growing business and many cares.
In his early law practice, he received five hundred
dollars for conducting a criminal case successfully.
A legal friend called upon him the next morning, and
found him counting his money.
"Look here, judge," he said; "more money out of
this case than I ever had in my life. If I had two
hundred and fifty dollars more, I would go directly
and purchase a quarter-section of land, and settle it
upon my old stepmother."
" I will loan you the required amount," answered
the judge.
"Agreed," rejoined Mr. Lincoln, and proceeded to
write a note at once.
" I would not use the money just as you have
indicated," then added the judge.
A SUCCESSFUL LAWYER. 295
"Why not?"
" Your stepmother is getting old, and will not live
many years. I would settle the property upon her
for her use during her lifetime, to revert to you upon
her death."
" I shaU do no such thing," answered Lincoln,
decidedly. " It is a poor return, at the best, for the
good woman's devotion and fidelity to me, and there
is not going to be any half way business about it."
As soon as he could, he purchased the quarter-
section, and settled it upon his stepmother.
On hearing of his father's serious illness in January,
185 1, at a time when pressing business and the sick-
ness of his own wife rendered it impossible for him to
leave her, he wrote a very touching filial letter,
addressing it to Johnston. The letter has the follow-
ing paragraph : —
" You already know I desire that neither father or
mother shall be in want of any comfort, either in
health or sickness, while they live ; and I feel sure
that you have not failed to use my name, if necessary,
to procure a doctor or any thing else for father in his
present sickness. I sincerely hope father 'may yet
recover his health ; but, at all events, tell him to
remember and call upon and confide in our great and
good and merciful Maker, who will not turn away
from him in any extremity. He notes the fall of
a sparrow, and numbers the hairs of our heads ; and
he will not forget the dying man who puts his trust in
him. Say to him, that, if we could meet now, it is
doubtful whether it would not be more painful than
pleasant ; but that, if it be his lot to go now, he will
296 PIONEER HOME- TO WHITE HOUSE.
soon have a joyous meeting with loved ones gone
before, and where the rest of us, through the help o^
God, hope ere long to join them."
That the reader may know we have not spoken
with partiality of Mr. Lincoln as a lawyer, the follow-
ing tribute of two of the most distinguished jurists of
his day, spoken after his tragic death, will prove.
Judge David Davis said : " In all the elements that
constitute the great lawyer he had few equals. The
framework of his mental and moral being was
honesty. He never took from a client, even when the
cause was gained, more than he thought the service
was worth and the client could reasonably afford
to pay. He was loved by his brethren of the bar."
Judge Drummond said : " With a probity of charac-
ter known to all, with an intuitive insight into the
human heart, with a clearness of statement which was
in itself an argument, with uncommon power and
felicity of illustration,- — often, it is true, of a plain and
homely kind, — and with that sincerity and earnest-
ness of manner, which carried conviction, he was
one of the most successful lawyers in the State."
CHAPTER XXII.
THE RISING STATESMAN.
|R LINCOLN was elected to Congress in
1846. He was brought forward in a meet-
ing to nominate delegates to a Congressional
Convention in 1844, but Col. Baker received
the endorsement of the convention. Mr. Lincoln,
however, was chosen one of the delegates to the
district convention, whereupon he wrote to his old
friend Speed, in a vein of humor, " The meeting ap-
pointed me one of the delegates, so that in getting Baker
the nomination I shall be ' fixed ' a good deal like the
fellow who is made groomsman to the man who has
' cut him out,' and is marrying his own dear gal."
Henry Clay, his favorite statesman, was the Whig
candidate for President that year ; and Mr. Lincoln
entered into the canvass with all his heart, making
numerous speeches, and winning golden opinions. He
was chosen a presidential elector, a merited honor.
One day he was coming down the steps of the
State House, when he met an old client, whose note
for services he held.
"'Hallo, Cogdal ! " Lincoln exclaimed, heartily ex-
tending his hand : " you have been very unfortunate, I
298 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
hear." Cogdal had been blown up by an accidental
discharge of powder, and lost one hand by the ca-
lamity.
" Yes, rather unfortunate ; but it might have been
worse," answered Cogdal.
" Well, that is a philosophical way of looking at it,
certainly," continued Lincoln. " But how are you
getting along in your business ? "
" Badly enough. I am not only broken up in my
business, but crippled for life also."
" I am sorry for you, very sorry indeed," replied
Lincoln with profound sympathy.
" I have been thinking about that note of yours,"
Cogdal added, in a despairing tone.
" Well, " responded Lincoln, in a half-laughing way,
"you need n't think any more about it," at the same
time taking the note from his pocket-book and handing
it to him.
Cogdal protested against taking the note, and ex-
pressed the hope that some day he might be able to
pay it. But Lincoln insisted, adding, " If you had the
money I would not take it," and he hurried away.
We said that he was elected to Congress in 1846.
He was elected too, by a surprisingly large majority.
Henry Clay received but nine hundred and fourteen
majority in the district in 1844 ; but Lincoln's majority
was one thousand five hundred and eleven. Many
voted for him who were not Whigs, his honesty and
peculiar fitness for the office winning their votes. He
took his seat in the National House of Representa-
tives, Dec. 6, 1847 5 and the fact that he was the only
Whig member from Illinois contributed somewhat
THE RISING STATESMAN. 299
to his popularity. At the same session Stephen A.
Douglas took his seat in the United States Senate —
Democratic senator from Illinois. He was "the
youngest and shortest member of the senate," while
Lincoln was the " youngest and longest member of the
house ; " so a waggish associate claimed.
The country was thoroughly excited, at that time,
upon the questions of " the Mexican war " and the
" admission of Texas as a slave State." The war with
Mexico was unjustly waged in the interests of slavery,
and the South was looking to Texas for the extension
of their inhuman institution. Lincoln at once arrayed
himself against these unrighteous measures, and he
delivered a speech which was acknowledged to be the
best that was delivered against them during the ses-
sion.
The anti-slavery conflict in Congress was hot and
bitter during the two years he served in the House.
Those mighty champions of Liberty, John Quincy
Adams of Massachusetts, and Joshua R. Giddings, of
Ohio, were members ; and Lincoln found himself fight-
ing for his principles by their side. He assailed slavery
as " unjust and cruel ;" and did not hesitate to declare
that God would visit the land in terrible retribution, if
the American people continued to legislate and govern
in the interests of human bondage. He voted forty-
two times, in one way and another, for that famous
anti-slavery measure — "The Wilmot Proviso."
He became popular with both Whigs and Democrats,
by reason of his genial spirit, fairness, and sincerity in
debate, his quick-witted ability in controversy, and his
transparency and uprightness of character.
300 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
He declined re-election in 1848, and again in 1850,
preferring to be at home with his family, and follow his
chosen profession.
His life in Washington forced upon his conviction
anew, that he must give more attention to intellectual
improvement. He saw and felt that the distance
between himself and many of his congressional asso-
ciates, was great indeed ; and he resolved to lessen it. H e
devoted himself to the study of English and American
literature with the earnest application of early days. He
studied language and style by reading the best authors.
In short, he took a new departure in mental progress,
and really accomplished what elevated his speeches and
composition the rest of his life. Being one who ac-
cepted the old maxim fully, " Never too old to learn,"
he not only made the most of himself possible after he
was forty years of age ; but he made more of himself
within a few years, than his most partial friends ever
anticipated.
Until the repeal of the Missouri Compromise in 1854,
and the attempt to force slavery upon Kansas, Lincoln
remained in comparative retirement, devoting himself
to his family and profession. Occasionally some pro-
slavery demonstration by his old friend and political
antagonist, Stephen A. Douglas, called him out, for he
was ever ready to pursue him in public debate or polit-
ical action. He made some speeches in the canvass
for General Taylor, Whig candidate for president, in
1848, and also for General Scott, Whig candidate for
president, in 1852. In the same year, also, he delivered
a eulogy upon Henry Clay in the State Capitol. He
made some addresses on Temperance, also. He had
THE RISING STATESMAN. 301
been accustomed to make "little speeches" upon Tem-
perance, as he called them, from the time he entertained
his companions on the stumps of Indiana. At the
time he entered upon the legal profession, the temper-
ance cause was demanding attention; and he had
occasional calls for addresses in this line. In 1854 he
joined the Sons of Temperance, believing that the
Order was accomplishing much good in the West as
well as in the East. He did not hesitate to lend both
example and voice against the drink customs.
But the repeal of the Missouri Compromise in 1854
aroused him by its base injustice and political chicanery.
A solemn covenant, made in 1820, to shut slavery out of
the northwest, was wantonly broken, that slavery might
have a foothold in Kansas and Nebraska ; and his old
associate and antagonist, Douglas, was the author of it.
The deed aroused his whole stalwart nature against the
arch democrat, who devised and prosecuted the dia-
bolical scheme ; and he took the field of political
controversy, stronger and more earnest than ever.
Mr. Douglas delivered a speech in Springfield, while
the State Fair was in progress, and thousands of people
were there. Mr. Lincoln heard it, and replied to it, in
the same place, on the following day. Listeners de-
clared it to be the grandest effort of his life, and that
it completely destroyed the political foundation on
which Douglas stood. His speech was over three hours
long. The " Springfield Journal " said :
" He quivered with feeling and emotion. The whole
house was as still as death. He attacked the bill (the
Kansas-Nebraska bill, of which Douglas was the author)
with unusual warmth and energy, and all felt that a
302 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
man of strength was its enemy ; and that he intended
to blast it if he could by strong and manly efforts. He
was most successful; and the house approved the
glorious triumph of truth by loud and long-continued
huzzas. Women waved their white handkerchiefs in
token of their silent but heartfelt consent. Every
man felt that the speech was unanswerable — that no
human power could overthrow it, or trample it under
foot."
Mr. Lincoln followed Douglas to Peoria and other
places, and was equally triumphant in his replies to
the advocate of slavery. The result was a complete
political revolution in the state. The Democrats had
been in power in Illinois, ever since their party was
organized. But now their power was broken, and a
Whig legislature was elected, Lincoln being among its
members. A press of business, however, compelled
him to resign before taking his seat. Many Democrats
voted with the Whigs, because they were opposed to
forcing slavery upon Kansas and Nebraska.
This new Whig Legislature had to elect a United
States Senator : and Mr. Lincoln was the Whig candi-
date ; Lyman Trumbull the anti-Kansas-Nebraska Dem-
ocratic candidate ; and General James Shields, the
Douglas party candidate. After several undecisive
ballots, the Democrats dropped Gen. Shields and
took up Governor Matheson, who had not committed
himself to either side of the great question ; and
Matheson came within three votes of an election. At
this juncture, an effort was made to unite the friends
of Lincoln and Trumbull upon one of them. Here
the remarkable magnanimity of Lincoln's nature came
THE RISING STATESMAN. 3O3
to the rescue, showing how much more he cared
for the principle at issue than he did for himself.
"Withdraw my name and support Trumbull,'"
urged Lincoln ; " we shall be whipped if you don't."
" Never ; never," prote-sted one and another.
" Four votes only will make Matheson senator, and
we must not risk another ballot," urged Lincoln, with
still more earnestness.
" Impossible," answered one. "We cannot do it,"
said another.
Lincoln grew determined over the danger of losing
in the contest, and straightening himself up to his
full height, as he was wont under great emotion : —
" It must be done," he shouted.
The Whigs yielded, though several of them wept at
the necessity ; and the united effort made Trumbull
senator. But, to the Whigs of Illinois, Lincoln never
appeared so truly great, as he did after that act
of superior magnanimity. No man in the State
or country rejoiced more heartily over the triumph
than Mr. Lincoln.
In 1856, the Republican party of Illinois was organ-
ized at Bloomington, and the foremost man in its
organization was Abraham Lincoln. With one of his
ablest speeches, on that occasion, he fired all hearts.
Mr. Scripps says : " Never was an audience more
completely electrified by human eloquence. Again
and again during the progress of its delivery, they
sprang to their feet and upon the benches, and
testified by long continued shouts and the waving of
hats, how deeply the speaker had wrought upon their
minds and hearts."
304 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
From the organization of the Republican party, Mr.
Lincoln was not only the first Republican in Illinois,
but also in all the Western States ; and a month later,
at the National Republican convention to nominate a
candidate for President, his name was brought
forward for the Vice-Presidency. On the informal
ballot he received one hundred and ten votes, and
Mr. Dayton two hundred and fifty-nine. This com.
plimentary vote was secured without Mr. Lincoln's
knowledge. He was attending court at Urbana in
his own State. The newspaper report that reached
Urbana said, " Lincoln received one hundred and ten
votes."
"Is that our Lincoln ! " inquired one of the lawyers.
" Of course, it is," replied another. And turning
to Mr. Lincoln, who made his appearance just then,
he remarked : —
" I congratulate you upon so handsome a vote for
Vice-President."
"Me!" exclaimed Lincoln, who had already read
the paper. " Have you any idea that means me ? "
" Certainly, I have no idea that it means anybody
else."
" Well, you were never more mistaken in your life,"
protested Mr. Lincoln ; " it can't mean me. It must
be the great Lincoln from Massachusetts."
He utterly refused to believe the newspaper report,
until he read a full account of the proceedings of the
convention. The humble estimate he put upon his
own abilities and influence, and the fact that he had
indulged no aspirations for the office, is sufficient
explanation of the affair.
THE RISING STATESMAN. 305
He took part in the campaign that followed for
Fremont and Dayton, striking some telling blows for
liberty. The opposition found a powerful antagonist
in him, and sometimes resorted to mean expedients to
show their hostility. At a meeting at Charleston, Coles
County, a Democrat interrupted him by saying, "Mr.
Lincoln, is it true that you entered this State bare-
footed, driving a yoke of oxen ? "
Mr. Lincoln paused a few moments, and then
answered, " I think I can prove the fact by at least a
dozen men in the crowd, any one of whom is more
respectable than my questioner."
Then he branched off upon the helps of a free gov^
ernment to a poor boy, and "the curse of Slavery to
the white man, wherever it existed," speaking, in
a strain of thrilling eloquence, and closing his response
with the following inspiring sentence, that thoroughly
aroused the assembly : —
" Yes, we will speak for freedom and against
slavery, as long as the Constitution of our country
guarantees free speech, until everywhere on this wide
land, the sun shall shine and the rain shall fall and the
wind shall blow upon no man who goes forth to
unrequited toil."
Mr. Lincoln had prophesied, not only bloodshed in
Kansas, but also a bloody contest between the North
and South, in consequence of the repeal of the
Missouri Compromise, and the Kansas-Nebraska out-
rage. Already the first prophecy was fulfilled, and
" Border Ruffians " were burning houses, shooting
Free-State men, and sacking villages, to frighten
freedom out of Kansas. Douglas saw that political
305 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
death awaited him in Illinois if he pursued his
Kansas-Nebraska measure ; and, all at once he changed
front, and voted with the Republicans in Congress
against the very measure his own political recklessness
inaugurated. His senatorial term was drawing to
a close, and now he sought a re-election by appealing
to Republicans for support. Those of Illinois were
too familiar with his duplicity to believe he was
honest, and refused to support him. In other States,
where his political character was not so well under-
stood, there were prominent Republicans who asked
their brethren of Illinois to return him to the
United States Senate.
Mr. Lincoln was never bolder, more earnest and.
stronger, than he was in this campaign. The Re-
publican State convention met at Springfield on the
sixteenth day of June ; and it was scarcely organized
when a banner was borne into the hall, on which was
inscribed, "Cook County for Abraham Lincoln."
The sight of it seemed to craze the whole assembly.
They sprang to their feet, jumped upon the benches,
swung their hats, shouted, cheered and gave them-
selves up to demonstrations of delight for several
minutes. Mr. Lincoln was unanimously nominated ;
and, in the evening, delivered before the convention
his famous speech, known in history as " The House-
divided-against-itself Speech." This title was derived
from a single paragraph at the opening of the speech,
as follows : —
"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I
believe this government cannot endure permanently,
half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to
THE RISING STATESMAN. 307
oe dissolved, — I do not expect the house to fall ; but I
do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become
all one thing, or all the other." Late in the after-
noon of that day, Mr. Lincoln went over to his office,
with his carefully prepared speech in his pocket ; and,
locking the door behind him, he said to his partner,
Mr. Herndon : —
" Let me read you a paragraph of my speech." He
read the foregoing extract, which was a part of the
first paragraph.
"How do you like it? " inquired Mr. Lincoln, before
Herndon had time to express his surprise. " What do
you think of it ? "
" I think it is true," replied Mr. Herndon, " but is it
entirely politic to read or speak it just as it is
written ? "
" That makes no difference," answered Mr. Lincoln.
Mr. Herndon was still more surprised. " Radical " as he
was, Lincoln was in advance of him.
" That expression is a truth of all human experience,
• — ' a house divided against itself cannot stand,' " added
Mr. Lincoln with emphasis. "The proposition is
indisputably true, and has been true for more than
six thousand years ; and — I will deliver it as written
I would rather be defeated with this expres-
sion in the speech, than be victorious without it."
An hour before the address was to be delivered in
the Representatives' Hall, a dozen of his friends assem-
bled in the library room, and Mr. Lincoln read to them
several paragraphs of his speech, including the extract
quoted.
" What do you think of it ? " he asked.
308 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" Fifty years in advance of public opinion," answered
one leader almost angrily.
" Very unwise," replied another.
" It will kill the Republican party," said a third.
" And you too, Lincoln," said a fourth.
" Nothing could be more unwise ; it will certainly
defeat your election ; " added a fifth.
And so the criticisms fell fast from nearly every
tongue. Every one, except Mr. Herndon, condemned
the extract in question. He sprang to his feet after
all had delivered themselves freely, and said : — " Lin-
coln, deliver it just as it reads."
Mr. Lincoln sat in silence for a moment, then, rising
from his seat, he walked backwards and forwards a few
moments longer. Suddenly stopping and facing the
company, he said : —
" Friends, I have thought about this matter a great
deal, have weighed the question well from all corners,
and am thoroughly convinced the time has come when
it should be uttered ; and if it must be that I must go
down because of this speech, then let me go down linked
to truth — die in the advocacy of what is right and just"
He delivered the speech just as he had prepared it*
and great, indeed, was the excitement occasioned
thereby. Many of his warmest friends were provoked
by his "unwisdom."
" A fool's speech," cried one.
" Wholly inappropriate ! " cried another.
" That foolish speech of yours will kill you, Lincoln,"
remarked Dr. Loring. " I wish it was wiped out of
existence ; don't you wish so now ? "
"Well, doctor," replied Mr. Lincoln, "if I had to
THE RISING STATESMAN. 309
draw a pen across, and erase my whole life from exis-
tence, and had one poor gift or choice left, as to what
I should save from the wreck, I should choose that
speech, and leave it to the world unerased."
More than a year afterwards, he was dining with a
party of friends at Bloomington, when that speech
became the theme of discussion, and every person
present declared it was "a great mistake."
" Gentlemen," replied Mr. Lincoln, "you may think
that speech was a mistake ; but I never have believed
it was, and you will see the day when you will consider
it the wisest thing I ever said."
His prophecy was completely fulfilled. The fact
was, Mr, Lincoln was led "in a way that he knew
not." A higher intelligence than mere human sagac-
ity guided him in the right. That speech was one
of the most marvellous productions in American annals,
and it not only gave the keynote to his great sena-
torial contest with Mr. Douglas, but it settled the
character and issue of the next presidential election,
and finally sealed the doom of slavery in this country.
After the delivery of this speech, Mr. Lincoln
challenged Mr. Douglas to joint debates throughout
the canvas. The latter accepted the challenge so far
as to arrange for debates with the former in seven im-
portant places of the state. Mr. Douglas conducted
his part of the affair with great pomp and noise,
proceeding to his appointments on a chartered train
accompanied with a band of music, and artillery to fire
salutes, at a cost of fifty thousand dollars. On the
other hand, Mr. Lincoln pursued his usual quiet, unos*
tentatious and honest way ; yet he won the victory
3IO PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
every time. " To say that he was the victor, morally
and intellectually, is simply to record the judgment of
the world." " In this canvass he earned a reputation
as a popular debater second to that of no man in
America — certainly not second to that of his famous
antagonist." At the close of one of his debates with
Mr. Douglas, even after the latter had occupied thirty
minutes in closing the discussion, the assembly was
so thoroughly " enthused " by Mr. Lincoln's victorious
effort, that they seized him, in their exuberance of joy,
and bore him out of the hall to the hotel upon their
shoulders, amidst cheers and shouts that made the
welkin ring. In the popular vote he received a ma-
jority of four thousand and eighty-five over Mr. Doug-
las ; but owing to the unfair apportionment of the legis-
lative districts, Mr. Douglas was returned to the United
States Senate.
In one of these debates he paid one of the most
eloquent tributes to the "Declaration of Independence"
(after having enunciated its principles) that ever fell
from human lips ; and he closed with these memo-
rable words :
" You may do anything with me you choose, if you
will but heed these sacred principles. You may not
only defeat me for the senate, but you may take me
and put me to death. While pretending no indifference
to earthly honors, I do claim to be actuated in this con-
test by something higher than an anxiety for office. I
charge you to drop every paltry and insignificant thought
for any man's success. It is nothing ; I am nothing ;
Judge Douglas is nothing. But do not destroy that
IMMORTAL EMBLEM OF HUMANITY, THE DECLARA-
TION of American Independence."
CHAPTER XXIII.
GOING UP HIGHER.
|HE Republican State Convention of Illinois
met at Decatur, May 9, i860, in a "Wig-
wam " erected for the purpose. Directly-
after the convention was organized, Governor
Oglesby, the chairman, arose, and said, " I am informed
that a distinguished citizen of Illinois, and one whom
Illinois will ever delight to honor, is present, and I
wish to move that this body invite him to a seat on the
stand." After a pause, as if to awaken curiosity, he
called out the name in a much louder voice, Abraham
Lincoln. Such a round of applause, cheer upon cheer,
followed the announcement, as shook every board and
joist of the wigwam. A rush, too, was made for the
gentleman, who stood near the door, and he was act-
ually taken up and borne through the dense crowd to
the platform. The cheering was like the roar of the
sea. Hats were thrown up by the Chicago delegation.
as if hats were no longer useful.
The convention proceeded to business, and was fairly
under way, when the chairman interrupted by saying :
" There is an old Democrat outside, I understand,
who has something to present to this convention."
312 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" Receive it ! receive it ! " responded several.
"What is it? what is it?" cried out others.
" Let us have it," shouted another.
The convention voted to receive the Democrat, and
in walked Mr. Lincoln's old friend, John Hanks, who
helped him to split the rails for his father's fifteen acre
lot ; the same Hanks who went with him to New
Orleans for Offutt, and enlisted with him in the Black
Hawk War. John bore on his shoulders two rails, from
the lot he and Abe split, surmounted with a banner
with this inscription : —
"Two Rails
From a Lot Made by Abraham Lincoln and John Hanks,
in the Sangamon Bottom, in the Year 1830."
Wild, tumultuous applause greeted the rails, and the
scene became simply tempestuous and bewildering.
The tumult subsided only to make way for another.
" A speech ! " " Let's hear the rail-splitter ! " "A
speech!" "Old Abe must show his hand!" These
and other demands were made in one incessant noisy
clamor, lasting several minutes, until Mr. Lincoln arose,
confused, blushing, yet smiling, and remarked, —
" Gentlemen, I suppose you want to know something
about those things (pointing to the rails). Well, the
truth is, John Hanks and I did make rails in the San-
gamon Bottom. I don't know whether we made those
fails or not ; the fact is, I don't think they are a credit
to the makers. But I do know this : I made rails then,
and I think I could make better ones than these now."
Another storm of applause shook the wigwam for
several minutes ; and was followed by a resolution
GOING UP HIGHER. 313
declaring " Abraham Lincoln to be the first choice of
the Republican party of Illinois for the Presidency."
The resolution was carried unanimously, amidst the
wildest demonstrations.
Five thousand people attended this convention,
among them many Democrats who were friends of
Lincoln. Other Democrats were there, who were not
a little provoked at the course of John Hanks and
others of their party. One of them accosted Mr. Lin-
coln, after the adjournment : —
"And so you're Abe Lincoln?"
"That's my name, sir," answered Mr. Lincoln.
" They say you're a self-made man."
" Well, yes ; what there is of me is self-made," replied
Mr. Lincoln.
"Wall," added the Democrat, after surveying him
from head to foot, " all I've got to say is, that it was a
very bad job."
It should be said that, after Mr. Lincoln's senatorial
contest with Mr. Douglas, particularly in 1859, ^e
spoke by invitation in Kansas, Ohio, New York, and
several of the New England States. His speeches
were pronounced masterly. Cooper Institute was
thronged to hear him in New York city, and he was
introduced by the poet Bryant. The next morning,
the Tribune said, " No man ever before made such an
impression on his first appeal to a New York audience."
While in New York, two incidents transpired, which
show much of the man. He met an old acquaintance
from Illinois in a mercantile establishment. " How
have you fared since you left Illinois ? " inquired Mr3
Lincoln.
314 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" 1 have made a hundred thousand dollars, and lost
it all. And how is it with you, Mr. Lincoln ? "
" Oh, very well," Mr. Lincoln replied; "I have the
cottage at Springfield, and about eight thousand dollars
in money. If they make me vice-president with Seward,
as some say they will, I hope I shall be able to increase
it to twenty thousand ; and that is as much as any man
ought to want."
He stopped in New York over Sunday, and strolled
alone into the Sabbath School of the Five Points Mis-
sion, •interested to learn what could be done for the
street children of the city. The superintendent was
impressed by the appearance of the visitor, and invited
him to address the girls and boys. Without hesitation,
he consented, and immediately began a little speech
that completely captivated his young listeners. Sev-
eral times he essayed to stop, but his listeners cried
out, "Go on, go on, sir." "Do go on." It was an
unusual address, and charmed both teacher and pupil
alike. When he was about to depart, the superintend-
ent said :
" Pardon me ; may I have the pleasure of knowing
who my visitor is ? "
" Abraham Lincoln of Illinois," he replied.
He spoke at Norwich, Conn., and subsequently Dr.
Gulliver published the following instructive and inter-
esting account of his interview with him, on the next
morning after listening to him : —
" The next morning I met him at the railroad
station, where he was conversing with our Mayor,
every few minutes looking up the track and inquir-
ing, half impatiently and half quizzically, 'Where's
GOING UP HIGHER. 315
that "wagon" of yours? Why don't the "wagon"
come along ? ' On being introduced to him, he fixed
his eyes upon me, and said : ' I have seen you before,
sir ! ' 'I think not,' I replied : 'you must mistake me
for some other person.' 'No, I don't; I saw you at
the Town Hall, last evening.' 'Is it possible, Mr.
Lincoln, that you could observe individuals so closely
in such a crowd ? ' ' Oh, yes ! ' he replied, laughing ;
' that is my way. I don't forget faces. Were you
not there ? ' 'I was, sir, and I was well paid for
going ; ' adding, somewhat in the vein of pleasantry he
had started, ' I consider it one of the most extraordi-
nary speeches I ever heard.'
"As we entered the cars, he beckoned me to take
a seat with him, and said, in a most agreeably frank
way, ' Were you sincere in what you said about my
speech just now ? '
" ' I meant every word of it, Mr. Lincoln. Why, an
old dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, who sat near me,
applauded you repeatedly, and when rallied upon his
conversion to sound principles, answered : ' I don't
believe a word he says, but I can't help clapping him
he 's sopat." That I call the triumph of oratory/
"When you convince a man against his will,
Though he is of the same opinion still."
0 Indeed, sir, I learned more of the art of public
speaking last evening than I could from a whole
course of lectures on Rhetoric'
"'Ah! that reminds me,' said he, 'of a most
extraordinary circumstance which occurred in New
Haven the other day. They told me that the Pra
316 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
f essor of Rhetoric in Yale College, — a very learned
man, is n't he ? '
" ' Yes, sir, and a fine critic too/
" ' Well, I suppose so ; he ought to be, at anji
rate, — they told me that he came to hear me, and
took notes of my speech, and gave a lecture on it to
his class the next day ; and, not satisfied with that,
he followed me up to Meriden the next evening, and
heard me again for the same purpose. Now, if this is
so, it is to my mind very extraordinary. I should
like very much to know what it was in my speech you
thought so remarkable, and what you suppose inter-
ested my friend, the professor, so much.'
" ' The clearness of your statements, Mr. Lincoln ;
the unanswerable style of your reasoning, and
especially your illustrations, which were romance and
pathos, and fun and logic all welded together. That
story about the snakes, for example, which set the
hands and feet of your Democratic hearers in such
vigorous motion, was at once queer and comical, and
tragic and argumentative. It broke through all the
barriers of a man's previous opinions and prejudices at
a crash, and blew up the very citadel of his false theo-
ries before he could know what had hurt him.'
" ; Can you remember any other illustrations,' said
he ' of this peculiarity of my style ? '
" I gave him others of the same sort, occupying
some half-hour in the critique, when he said : * I am
much obliged to you for this. I have been wishing
for a long time to find some one who would make this
analysis for me. It throws light on a subject which
has been dark to me. I hope you have not been too
GOING UP HIGHER. 317
flattering in your estimate. Certainly, I have had a
most wonderful success, for a man of my limited
education.'
" ' That suggests, Mr. Lincoln, an inquiry which
has several times been upon my lips during this
conversation. I want very much to know how
you got this unusual power of "putting things. "
It must have been a matter of education. No man
has it by nature alone. What has your education
been ? '
" ' Well, as to education, the newspapers are cor-
rect; I never went to school more than six months
in my life. But, as you say, this must be a product
of culture in some form. I have been putting the
question you ask me to myself, while you have been
talking. I can say this, that among my earliest
recollections I remember how, when a mere child, I
used to get irritated when any body talked to me in a
way I could not understand. I don't think I ever
got angry at anything else in my life. But that
always disturbs my temper, and has ever since. I
can remember going to my little bed-room, after
hearing the neighbors talk of an evening with my
father, and spending no small part of the night
walking up and down, and trying to make out what
was the exact meaning of some of their, to me, dark
sayings. I could not sleep, though I often tried to,
when I got on such a hunt after an idea, until I had
caught it ; and when I thought I had got it, I was not
satisfied until I had repeated it over and over, until
I had put it in language plain enough, as I thought,
for any boy I knew to comprehend. This was a kind
318 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
of passion with me, and it has stuck by me ; for I am
never easy now, when I am handling a thought, till
I have bounded it North, and bounded it South, and
bounded it East, and bounded it West. Perhaps
that accounts for the characteristic you observe in
my speeches, though I never put the two things
together before.'
" * Mr. Lincoln, I thank you for this. It is the
most splendid educational fact I ever happened
upon. But, let me ask, did you prepare for your
profession ? '
"'Oh, yes! I "read law," as the phrase is; that
is, I became a lawyer's clerk in Springfield, and
copied tedious documents, and picked up what I
could of law in the intervals of other work. But
your question reminds me of a bit of education I
had, which I am bound in honesty to mention. In
the course of my law-reading, I constantly came
upon the word demonstrate. I thought at first that
I understood its meaning, but soon became satisfied
that I did not. I said to myself, " What do I mean
when I demonstrate more than when I reason or
prove ? How does demonstration differ from any
other proof?" I consulted Webster's Dictionary.
That told of "certain proof," "proof beyond the
pcssibility of doubt ; " but I could form no idea
what sort of proof that was. I thought a great
many things were proved beyond a possibility of
doubt, without recourse to any such extraordinary
process of reasoning as I understood "demonstra-
tion " to be. I consulted all the dictionaries and
books of reference I could find, but with no better
GOING UP HIGHER. 319
results. You might as well have defined blue to a
blind man. At last I said, " Lincoln, you can
never make a lawyer if you do not understand what
demonstrate means ; " and I left my situation in
Springfield, went home to my father's house, and
stayed there till I could give any proposition in the
six books of Euclid at sight. I then found out
what " demonstrate " means, and went back to my
law-studies.'
" I could not refrain from saying, in my admiration
at such a development of character and genius
combined : ' Mr. Lincoln, ) ar success is no longer
a marvel. It is the legitk *ate result of adequate
causes. You deserve it all, and a great deal more.
If you will permit me, I would like to use this fact
publicly. It will be most valuable in inciting our
young men to that patient classical and mathemat-
ical culture which most minds absolutely require.
No man can talk well unless he is able first of all
to define to himself what he is talking about. Eu-
clid, well studied, would free the world of half its
calamities, by banishing half the nonsense which
now deludes and curses it. I have often thought
that Euclid would be one of the best books to put
on the catalogue of the Tract Society, if they could
only get people to read it. It would be a means of
grace.'
" ? I think so,' said he, laughing ; * I vote for
Euclid.'
"As we neared the end of our journey, Mr. Lin-
coln turned to me very pleasantly, and said : ' I
want to thank you for this conversation. I have
320 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
enjoyed it very much.' I replied, referring to some
stalwart denunciations he had just been uttering of
the demoralizing influence of Washington upon
Northern politicians in respect to the slavery ques-
tion, ' Mr. Lincoln, may I say one thing to you
before we separate ? '
" ' Certainly, anything you please.'
"'You have just spoken of the tendency of po-
litical life in Washington to debase the moral con-
victions of our representatives there by the admix-
ture of considerations of mere political expediency.
You have become, by the controversy with Mr.
Douglas, one of our leaders in this great struggle
with slavery, which is undoubtedly the struggle of
the nation and the age. What I would like to. say
is this, and I say it with a full heart, Be true to your
principles and we will be true to you, and God will
be true to us all ! ' His homely face lighted up
instantly with a beaming expression, and taking my
hand warmly in both of his, he said : • I say Amen
to that — Amen to that ! '
The National Republican Convention assembled in
Chicago on the sixteenth day of June, i860. A
mammoth "Wigwam " was erected to accommodate the
delegates and crowd of spectators It was estimated
that twenty-five thousand men attended that conven-
tion. Fifteen hundred of them slept under the roof
of a single hotel.
The candidates for President were William H. Sew-
ard, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, Judge McLean,
Willliam L. Dayton, Simon Cameron, Abraham Lin-
coln and Benjamin F. Wade. It must be conceded,
Residence of Abraham Lincoln, Springfield, Ill„
GOING UP HIGHER. 32 1
however, that Mr. Seward was by far the most promi-
nent, and his nomination was generally expected by
Republicans in the East, if not in the West. Indeed,
Mr. Lincoln was not known to the rank and file of the
Republican party, outside of the western States. Mr.
Chase and Judge Bates were better known to the
people of the whole country than he. But the ballot-
ing proved that Mr. Seward was not so strong a
candidate as many anticipated. Mr. Chase had forty-
nine votes, and Judge Bates forty-eight, in the infor-
mal ballot, while Mr. Lincoln had one hundred and
two. It was evident that Mr. Seward could not be
nominated. There were not a sufficient number
to leave their favorite candidates for him, to secure
his nomination. But as the result proved, there were
enough who would leave the men of their choice and
vote for Mr. Lincoln, to elect him. To them Mr. Lin-
coln was a compromise candidate, whom they preferred,
if they could not have the man of their choice. Mr.
Lincoln was nominated on the third ballot. The scene
that followed the announcement beggars description.
Not a storm, but a hurricane of uncontrollable enthu-
siasm burst from the vast assembly, augmented by
the multitude waiting outside, who in response to the
cry of a messenger stationed upon the roof of the
"Wigwam," " Fire the salute! Abe Lincoln is nomi-
nated" rent the air with their deafening shouts, while
the thundering roar of cannon, peal on peal, swelled
the din into fearful proportions.
The news was flashed over the wires to Springfield ;
and, when it was received at the office of the Journal,
where Mr. Lincoln and a few of his neighbors were
322 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
gathered, the excitement of Chicago was repeated on
a smaller scale, and the nominee was overwhelmed
with congratulations. Taking the telegram up, Mr.
Lincoln remarked : —
"Well, gentlemen, there is a little woman at out
house who is probably more interested in this dispatch
than I am ; and if you will excuse me, I will take it up
and let her see it."
The committee of the Chicago Convention officially
notified Mr. Lincoln of his nomination, at his home
on the following day. A few citizens, desiring that
their distinguished townsman should conform to an
old political custom, on so important an occasion, pur-
chased a quantity of the choicest liquors they could
find, and sent them to his house. Mr. Lincoln
promptly returned them, with the characteristic mes-
sage : —
" You know that we never do any such thing at our
house."
The correspondent of the "Portland Press," who
was present, says that, after the official ceremonies
and formal introductions ended, a servant brought in a
waiter, containing a large pitcher and several glass tum-
blers, when " Mr. Lincoln arose, and gravely addressing
the company, said : ' Gentlemen, we must pledge our
mutual healths in the most healthy beverage which
God has given to man — it is the only beverage I have
ever used or allowed in my family, and I cannot con-
scientiously depart from it on the present occasion — it
is pure Adam's ale, from the spring ; ' and, taking a
tumbler, he touched it to his lips, and pledged them
his highest respects in a cup of cold water. Of course
GOING UP HIGHER. 323
all his guests were constrained to admire his consis-
tency, and to join in his example."
His neighbors supposed that he would yield his
temperance principles to the demands of the august
occasion ; but he was not the man to do that. The
statesman who dared to oppose his own best friends,
and say to the world, " a house divided against itself
cannot stand," would not sacrifice his principles now
for a glass of wine.
He received the honored guests with the simplicity
and informality for which he was famed, and, after
assuring them that he had nothing stronger than
" Adam's ale" in his house, he drank their health in
the "sparkling beverage." He never performed a
more independent, consistent, and worthy act than
that. He stood by his temperance principles just as
he did by his anti-slavery principles.
His nomination created the most intense excitement
and bitterness in the slave States. Threats of seces-
sion and rebellion came from them with every wind
that blew. His election in the following November
was the signal for the southern leaders to prepare for
civil war and the dissolution of the Union. Before
Inauguration Day arrived seven of the southern States
had seceded and organized a southern Confederacy.
Mutterings of the coming storm were heard. The
war-cloud was gathering, dark and ominous. The
thunder of arms was heard in the distance. Beaten
with the ballot, the champions of slavery resolved to
conquer with the bullet. War seemed inevitable.
Mr. Lincoln was overwhelmed with visitors from
the day of his nomination, until he removed to the
324 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
White House. All classes, high and low, rich and
poor, great and little, flocked to see the "tall man elo-
quent," and shake his hand. Some curious incidents
occurred, which exhibit the noble qualities of the
presidential candidate far better than words. Two
young men entered the Executive chamber of the
State House, where he received his friends, and lin-
gered near the door. Observing them, Mr. Lincoln
approached them, saying : —
"How do you do, my good fellows ? What can I do
for you ? Will you sit down ? "
" We do not care to sit," replied the shorter of the
two.
" I am at your service," continued Mr. Lincoln in
his familiar way, aiming te make the diffident young
men feel at home.
" I had some talk with my friend here," continued
the young man, " about your height, Mr. Lincoln.
He thinks he is just as tall as you are."
" Ah ! " responded Mr. Lincoln with a broad smile,
at the same time scanning the " tall companion," " he
is long certainly. Let us see about that." He went
for his cane and returning, said :
" Here, young man, we'll see who is the longest."
Placing the end of the cane upon the wall, he said :
" Come under here, young man. We can settle
that question in a minute."
The young man stepped under the cane, and when
it was carefully adjusted, Mr. Lincoln continued : "Now
step out and hold the cane while I go under."
No quicker said than done.
" He is just my height exactly," he remarked to the
GOING UP HIGHER. 325
shorter visitor ; " he guessed with remarkable accu-
racy." Then taking each of them by the hand with
words of encouragement, he bade them good by.
He saw that the two young men were well meaning
but verdant, unacquainted with the proprieties of the
occasion ; but, sooner than have them feel that they
had insulted his dignity he would measure " height ,v
with them a dozen times over.
An old woman came in to see him "because hs
used to dine at her house when he was on the Circuit."
Mr. Lincoln could not remember her, until she had
called his attention, definitely to certain incidents.
" Oh, yes ; I remember now," he said, shaking hei-
hand heartily ; " I hope it is well with you, my dear
woman."
" Do you remember that scanty dinner I gave you
one day ?"
" No, I am sure I do not remember anything scant
at your house."
" Well, you did have a scanty dinner one day," she
added. "You came along just as we were through
dinner, and every thing was eaten up ; so that I had
nothing to give you but a bowl of bread and milk, and
you ate it, and when you got up, and I apologized for
having nothing better, you replied, ' Why, that is quite
good enough for the President of the United States.' "
Mr. Lincoln laughed and invoked a blessing on her
head, fully appreciating the well-meant friendship that
brought her eight miles on purpose to remind him of
the " scanty dinner."
Among his callers was Hannah Arn .strong, widow
of Jack and mother of William ; and a more sincere
326 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
and worshipful visitor he did not have. " He talked to
me just as he did when Jack was alive," she said after-
wards. " I talked to him some time, and was about to
bid him good-by. I had told him that it was the last
time I should ever see him ; something told me 1
should never see him again ; they would kill him.
He smiled and said, ' Hannah, if they do kill me, I
shall never die another death.' Then I bade him good-
by."
A grand reception was tendered him in Chicago.
He observed a little girl approaching very timidly.
Beckoning to her kindly, he said : " Little girl, what
will you have ? "
" I want your name," she hesitatingly replied. Just
then Mr. Lincoln observed several other little girls
approaching, and he responded :
" But here are several other little girls — they would
feel badly if I should give my name only to you."
"There are eight of us in all," she answered, "and
all of us want your name,"
" Then get me eight sheets of paper, with pen and
ink, and I will see what can be done for you."
The paper was brought, and Mr. Lincoln sat down
at a table, in the crowded room, and wrote a line upon
each sheet, appending his name thereto.
A little boy of about three years came into the room
with his father. As soon as he entered, he swung his
bat, and cried out, " Hurrah for Lincoln ! " The
people laughed, and Mr. Lincoln, joining them, caught
up the little fellow and gave him a toss towards the
ceiling, exclaiming, " Hurrah for you ! "
These were pleasant episodes to a man of so much
GOING UP HIGHER. 32;
simplicity and real kindness as Mr. Lincoln possessed,
in the general reception of dignitaries, — governors,
statesmen, senators, judges, divines, etc.
On the sixth of November, Mr. Lincoln was elected
President by the popular vote of 1,857,610, — 491,634
votes more than were cast for Mr. Douglas. In the
Electoral College he received 180 votes, and Mr.
Douglas only 12; the others being divided between
Breckinridge and Bell.
A few days before the election, the Republicans of
Springfield placed the result of a canvass of Spring-
field in Mr. Lincoln's hand. He called into the Ex-
ecutive Chamber Mr. Newton Bateman, Superintendent
of Public Instruction for the State of Illinois, whose
office was in the building. Having locked the door,
he said : —
" I have called you in to assist me in looking over
this canvass of Springfield ; I desire to know how the
ministers and some good people will vote."
Mr. Bateman assented to his proposition, and pro-
ceeded to examine the book. Mr. Lincoln frequently
inquired if such and such a person were not a minister
or member of the church, to which Mr. Bateman
replied according to the best of his knowledge. With
pencil in hand, Mr. Lincoln kept a memorandum.
When the examination was completed, he sat in silence,
and with a face full of sadness for several minutes.
Then, turning to Mr. Bateman, he remarked : —
" I don't understand it. Here are several ministers,
of different denominations, against me, and here are
prominent members of the churches against me. Mr.
Bateman, I am not a Christian, — God knows, I would
328 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
be one, — but I have carefully read the Bible, and I da
not so understand this book," drawing a copy of the
New Testament from his pocket. After a brief pause,
he continued : —
" These men well know that I am for freedom in the
Territories, freedom everywhere as far as the Constitu-
tion and laws will permit, and that my opponents are
for slavery. They know this, and yet, with this book
in their hands, in the light of which human bondage
cannot live a moment, they are going to vote against
me. I do not understand it at all."
Mr. Lincoln was on his feet, evidently filled with
emotion over the grave and perilous condition of the
country. In silence he walked up and down the room,
going back and forth several times, with deep sadness
depicted on his face, as if a mighty burden were rest-
ing on his heart. At length, suddenly stopping in the
centre of the hall, and lifting his right arm heaven-
ward, while tears were on his cheek, he exclaimed : —
"I know there is a God, and that he hates injustice
and slavery. I see the storm coming, and I know
that His hand is in it. If He has a place and work
for me, I am ready. I am nothing, but truth is every-
thing. I know I am right, because I know that liberty
is right. I have told them that a house divided against
itself cannot stand, and Christ and reason say the
same ; and they will find it so. Douglas don't care
whether slavery is voted up or voted down ; but God
cares, and humanity cares, and I care ; and with God's
help, I shall not fail. I may not see the end ; but it
will come ; and I shall be vindicated ; and these men
will find that they have not read their Bibles aright/'
GOING UP HIGHER. 329
He spoke much of this as if soliloquizing, and then,
turning to Mr. Bateman, he added : —
" Does it not appear strange that men can ignore
the moral aspects of the contest ? A revelation could
not make it plainer to me that slavery or the govern-
ment must be destroyed. The future would be some-
thing awful, as I look at it, but for this rock on which
I stand, especially with the knowledge of how some of
these ministers are going to vote. It seems as if God
had borne with slavery until the very teachers of
religion have come to defend it from the Bible, and
to claim for it a divine character and sanction [re-
ferring to Drs. Ross and Palmer of the South, of
whom mention had been made] ; and now the cup
of iniquity is full, and the vials of wrath will be poured
out."
He went on still further, expressing his confidence
in Divine Providence, declaring that " right is might,"
and that faith in God " is indispensable to successful
statesmanship ; " and that the support which a public
man receives from these truths is grander than all
other support. He freely announced his belief in the
duty and power of prayer, and intimated that he had
sought Divine guidance in his solemn and responsible
position.
Mr. Bateman responded to him : —
" I have not supposed that you were accustomed to
think so much upon this class of subjects. Your
friends are ignorant of the fact that you entertain such
pronounced sentiments on these topics as you have
expressed to me."
"I am aware of that," Mr. Lincoln answered ; "but
330 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
I think more on these subjects than upon all others,
and I have done so for years."
That Mr. Lincoln was a child of Providence, with-
out knowing it, led and disciplined for graver respon-
sibilities than any previous President had ever borne,
not excepting Washington, is clear to the Bible
student. His language was that of prophecy, and his
spirit was that of a Christian hero and martyr.
Before leaving Springfield for Washington, Mr.
Lincoln paid his mother and other relatives a visit.
His mother was living with her daughter, Mrs. Moore,
at Farmington. " The meeting between him arid the
old lady," says Mr. Lamon, "was of the most affec-
tionate and tender character. She fondled him as her
own ' Abe,' and he her as his own mother."
Mrs. Lincoln returned with her son to Charleston
that they might enjoy each other's company still
longer. When the time arrived that Mr. Lincoln must
leave, both he and his mother were deeply affected.
Mr. Lamon continues : —
" The parting between Mr. Lincoln and his mother
was very touching. She embraced him with deep
emotion, and said she was sure she should never behold
him again, for she felt that ' his enemies would assassi-
nate him.'
" ' No, no, mother ; they will not do that. Trust in
the Lord and all will be well ; we shall see each other
again.'
" Inexpressibly affected by this new evidence of
her tender attachment and deep concern for his
safety, he gradually and reluctantly withdrew from
her arms, feeling more deeply oppressed by the
GOING UP HIGHER. 33 1
heavy cares which time and events were rapidly aug-
menting."
Mrs. Lincoln was not alone in her fears that her
son would come to an untimely end. Neighbors and
friends in Springfield were equally anxious.
" They will throw the cars from the track," one
suggested.
" Some one will stab him in the crowd," another.
" He will be poisoned before the fourth of March,"
still another.
" He will be shot from a housetop on inauguration
day/' a fourth.
" You ought to take a cook with you from your own
female friends," suggested a fifth.
On the eleventh day of February, 1861, Mr. Lin-
coln left Springfield for Washington with his family.
A multitude of friends and neighbors gathered at the
depot for a parting hand-shake. From the platform of
the cars, he addressed the company.
" My Friends — No one not in my position can appreciate
the sadness I feel at this parting. To this people I owe all that
I am. Here I have lived more than a quarter of a century.
Here my children were born, and here one of them lies buried.
I know not how soon I shall see you again. A duty devolves on
me which is greater, perhaps, than that which has devolved upon
any other man since the days of Washington. He never would
have succeeded except for the aid of Divine Providence, upon
which he at all times relied. I feel that I cannot succeed without
the same divine aid which sustained him, and on the same
Almighty Being I place my reliance for support ; and I hope
you, my friends, will pray that I may receive that divine assist-
ance, without which I cannot succeed, but with which success is
certain. Again I bid you all an affectionate farewell."
33 2 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
His journey to Washington was signalized by sincere
demonstrations of respect and honor. His passage
was like that of a conqueror. From the beginning to
the end of his journey, it was one splendid ovation.
At all the cities on the route, he addressed the vast
multitudes assembled, and his sentiments were eagerly
caught up arid borne over the land ; for the people
wer® eager to obtain the least hint of his future poiicy.
His speeches were characterized by that thoughtful,
sound, solid, clear, and logical element that ever dis-
tinguished his best efforts.
The presidential party was met at Philadelphia by
the son of Mr. Seward, with the startling intelligence
that a plot had been discovered to assassinate the
President-elect when he passed through Baltimore on
the following day. Threats of assassination had been
heard again and again, and now detectives supposed
that they had discovered a veritable plot, and that
speedy action alone could thwart the purpose of the
conspirators.
A consultation with Mr. Lincoln followed, and it
was arranged that, instead of going on the presidential
train the next day, Mr. Lincoln should be taken
through that night to Washington by the night ex-
press. At half-past six next morning he reached
Washington, and the news of his arrival was flashed
at once over the country by the telegraphic wires.
CHAPTER XXIV.
XsiPi*. IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
UR purpose being to see the man Lincoln
in the highest office, as we saw the boy
Abraham in his pioneer home, we shall not
recount his public deeds in overthrowing the
" Rebellion," which lasted during his entire life in the
Executive Mansion. His remarkable success in mar-
shalling the " Union Army " of more than two million
men, controlling the perilous factions of the country,
securing the confidence of every true patriot in the
land, organizing victory upon a thousand battle-fields,
creating a powerful navy, raising three thousand
million dollars for the war, restoring the public credit,
emancipating four million slaves, and restoring peace
upon a stronger basis than ever, is well known to the
world. These achievements caused M. Laboulaye to
exclaim, at the College of France, before an immense
audience of the elite of the intellectual world, "Mr.
Lincoln is a greater man than Cesar." To record
a history of these achievements would require a vol-
ume instead of two or three chapters, and even then the
real character of the man might not appear so clearly
as it does in certain incidents of his presidential
334 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
career. In his daily life, at the head of the nation, we
are to find those qualities of mind and heart which
made him truly great. Incidents will illustrate his
ability, honesty, patriotism, industry, kindness, self-
reliance, firmness, tact, wit, genius, magnanimity, and
influence, far better than declamation. For this reason
we shall present his presidential career through the
most instructive incidents of his life in the White
House.
Mr. Lincoln was inaugurated on the fourth of March,
1861. A vast concourse of people assembled at Wash-
ington to witness the imposing ceremonies. Fears of
an outbreak and the possible assassination of the
President led General Scott to provide ample military
defence of the city. President Lincoln closed his
inaugural address with the following touching appeal
to the enemies of the Government : —
'-' In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in
mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will
not assail you. You can have no conflict without being your-
selves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in heaven
to destroy the government ; while I shall have the most solemn
one to preserve, protect, and defend it. I am loath to close.
We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.
Though passion may be strained, it must not break our bonds of
affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every
battle-field and patriot grave to every living heart and hearth-
stone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the
Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better
angels of our nature."
On that morning, Mrs. Lincoln relates, he read his
inaugural address to his family ; and after having read
it, he requested to be left alone. The door stood ajar,
LIFE IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 335
and his friends distinctly heard him in prayer, com-
mending himself, his country, and his family to the
care and protection of God. The weight of responsi-
bility laid upon him was too great for his human heart
to bear alone. His Cabinet were William H. Seward,
Secretary of State ; Salmon P. Chase, Secretary oi
the Treasury ; Simon Cameron, Secretary of War ;
Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy ; Caleb B. Smith,
Secretary of the Interior; Montgomery Blair, Post-
master-General ; and Edward Bates, Attorney-General,
— a body of advisers with whom the loyal people
were well pleased.
A distinguished senator said to President Lincoln,
just after his inauguration : —
" You have as difficult a task in hand as Washing-
ton had, when he took command of the American
army, and as little to do with."
" That is true, substantially," replied the President,
"but then I have larger resources to draw from," a
reply which showed that a hopeful, discriminating,
thoughtful man had moved into the Executive
Mansion.
" You are right, Mr. President," responded the
Senator ; " but my remark had reference to the weak
condition of the government, as the out-going adminis-
tration left it — no money, no army, no navy, no
fire-arms, no nothing for you to begin with."
" But really, I have what is better, the patriotism of
the loyal people," was the President's just and noble
reply. Honorable Henry J. Raymond, speaking of a
leading feature of Mr. Lincoln's administration, said:
" From the outset his reliance was upon the spirit and
336 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
patriotism of the people. He had no overweening
estimate of his own sagacity, he was quite sensible of
his lack of that practical knowledge of men and affairs
which experience of both alone can give ; but he had
faith in the devotion of the people to the principles of
Republican government, in their attachment to the
Constitution and the Union, and in that intuitive
sagacity of a great community which always trans-
cends the most cunning devices of individual
men, and in a great and perilous crisis, more re-
sembles inspiration than the mere deductions of the
human intellect. At the very outset of his administra-
tion, President Lincoln cast himself, without reserve
and without fear, upon this reliance." A man of less
confidence in the ability and fidelity of the loyal
people for such a crisis would not have been qualified
for his position.
The senator referred to facts with which the country
was familiar ; that is, that the National Government
had been under the control of the South, especially
during the previous administration, and that the
cabinet had used their opportunity to prepare for civil
war, by taking possession of its resources, that north-
ern strength might be diminished. Howell Cobb was
Secretary of the Treasury under the previous admin-
istration, and he was a slaveholder from Georgia.
He left the public treasury without a dollar, 'and the
national credit so much impaired that borrowing
money was difficult, if not impossible. It was supposed
that he used several million dollars of the public
money in preparation for the rebellion. John B.
Floyd was Secretary of War; and he was a slave-
LIFE IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 337
holder from Virginia. He depleted northern arsenals,
as Cobb depleted the treasury, and sent rifles,
muskets, cannon, mortars, balls, powder and shells, to
important posts in the South. The " Memphis
Appeal," a disloyal journal of Tennessee, said that
u seven hundred and seven thousand stand of arms,
and two hundred thousand revolvers, were distributed
at convenient points in the South, by the action of
Secretary Floyd, at the commencement of the Re-
bellion." Isaac Toucey of Connecticut was Secretary
of the Navy, and though not a slaveholder, he was as
servile a tool in the hands of rebel manipulators as
lived ; and he scattered our navy, ninety vessels, so
widely that it could be of no immediate service to the
government, when the South should rise up against it.
Only two vessels of our entire naval squadron remained
in northern ports when Mr. Lincoln became Presi-
dent. It was to this discouraging condition of affairs
that the senator referred in addressing Mr. Lincoln.
The latter closed the interview by telling a story.
" Did you read the prophecy which the papers say
was spoken about my administration ? " asked Mr.
Lincoln.
The senator signified that he had not.
"Well," added Mr. Lincoln, "a prophet foretells
that my administration will be the reign of steel. To
which a wag replied, ' Buchanan's was the reign of
stealing' "
Mr. Lincoln's humor aided his hopefulness wonder-
fully in the very embarrassing circumstances in which
he found the government, and thereby he was all the
better fitted to rule the nation at such a time.
33^ PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
It was very important that a leading Democrat in
Congress should stand squarely by Mr. Lincoln's ad-
ministration ; and Senator Douglas, the President's
old antagonist, was the man, above all others, to do it.
Therefore Mr. Ashmun, of Massachusetts, called upon
him on the day after the fall of Sumter, April 14th,
1 86 1, just as the President was completing his procla-
mation and call for seventy-five thousand militia.
" No man can render greater service to the country
than yourself now, Mr. Douglas," said Mr. Ashmun ;
" and I want you to go to the President and assure
him of your cordial support in all necessary measures
to subdue the rebellion."
" Mr. Lincoln has dealt hardly with me, in removing
some of my friends from office," replied Mr. Douglas,
"and I don't know as he wants my advice or aid."
" But Mr. Lincoln followed Democratic precedents
in such removals," suggested Mr. Ashmun. " How-
ever, this is a time when the question of saving the
Union towers above all party affiliations, and you can
put the country under lasting gratitude to yourself,
and show the people, also, that, in the hour of national
peril, you can trample all party considerations under
your feet."
" True, very true," responded Mr. Douglas, with
considerable emotion ; "and no man shall excel me in
devotion to my country. My whole nature rises up to
condemn this Rebellion."
Here, Mrs. Douglas, who was present, joined Mr
Ashmun in the most affectionate appeals to her hus-
band, to take the important step suggested. The result
was, that Senator Douglas accompanied his friend to
LIFE IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 339
the White House, where the two " giants " and former-
antagonists of the West were brought face to face.
Grasping the President by the hand, Mr. Douglas
said, —
" You are my President, Mr. Lincoln, as well as the
country's."
The President's heart was touched, and he shook the
senator's hand heartily, thanking him for his cordial
support, and assuring him that the administration
would appreciate his patriotic position.
" Now permit me to read to you this important docu-
ment," added Mr. Lincoln, taking up his proclamation
in which he called for seventy-five thousand troops ;
" you understand the situation as well or better than I,
and you will readily see the wisdom or unwisdom of
the measure."
Senator Douglas signified his desire to hear the
document read. Slowly, seriously, and distinctly Mr.
Lincoln read it through, when, without waiting to be
asked, Mr. Douglas said, —
" Mr. President, I cordially concur in every word of
that document, except that, instead of the call for
seventy-five thousand men, I would make it two hun-
dred thousand. You do not know the dishonest
purposes of those men as well as I do."
Turning to a map hanging on the wall, he pointed out
the many strategic points that should be strengthened
at once, and closed by adding, that "the Government
must pursue a firm and warlike course to crush the
Rebellion."
On retiring from the President's room, Mr. Ashmun
said, —
340 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
"You have done justice to your own reputation and
to the President ; and the country must know it. The
proclamation will go by telegraph in the morning all
over the country, and the account of this interview
must go with it. I shall send it either in my own
language or yours. I prefer you should give your own
version."
Mr. Douglas consented to write the dispatch, and
the following day the country knew that he stood side
by side with Mr. Lincoln in saving the Union. From
that time until Mr. Douglas died, the President num-
bered him among his true and tried friends. He
rendered valuable assistance to Mr. Lincoln in learning
the plans of the rebels and disclosing their real animus.
The President regarded his death as a public bereave-
ment.
These two incidents disclose the simplicity, hopeful-
ness, patriotism, wisdom, magnanimity, and freedom
from a partisan spirit, which proved so helpful to the
President from the beginning of his rule.
Mr. Lincoln kept sacred the words of his inaugural
address — " You can have no conflict without being
yourselves the aggressors." But when the first gun
was fired upon Fort Sumter, in Charleston harbor,
the South became the aggressors. That was on the
twelfth day of April, 1861. On the previous afternoon,
General Beauregard, who commanded the rebel forces,
ordered the commander of the fort — Major Robert
Anderson — to surrender. The major replied: —
" My sense of honor and duty compel me to hold the
fort for my government."
" Shall you treat the city as a hostile town ? y he was
asked.
LIFE IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 34 1
" Only if I am compelled to do so," was his noble
reply.
So careful had the President been of offering any
provocation to the enemy to fire upon our flag, that he
sent an unarmed vessel, instead of a man-of-war, with
supplies to the half-starved garrison ; and the vessel
was not allowed to deliver the supplies — the rebel
troops prevented.
At half-past four o'clock on the morning of the
twelfth, the bombardment was opened by twelve
thousand troops, nearly twenty thousand more being
spectators. It was more than two hours before the
garrison replied, Major Anderson thus allowing the
insurgents to prove unmistakably their treasonable
designs to the world. All through the day and the
following night, the terrible cannonade was continued,
the gallant band within the fort standing by their guns
until the barracks took fire, compelling them to roll
ninety-six barrels of powder into the sea, and exhaust
themselves in extinguishing the flames. In the after-
noon of the thirteenth, the garrison surrendered upon
terms perfectly satisfactory to Major Anderson, and
they marched out of the fort with flags flying and
drums beating, taking all their private property with
them, and saluting the stars and stripes with fifty guns.
The enemy had hurled two thousand three hundred and
sixty-one shot and nine hundred and eighty shells at the
fort, when it passed into their hands.
The news of the fall of Sumter flashed over the land,
and awakened the loyal people to the dangers of the
hour. The aggressors had settled what the policy of
the President must be. War against the Government
342 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
had begun, and the appeal to arms must be accepted.
Hence the call for seventy-five thousand troops and the
interview with Mr. Douglas to which reference has
been made. From that time, President Lincoln was
occupied in efforts to conquer the Rebellion — creating
an army and navy ; raising money to carry on warlike
preparations ; securing necessary legislation, and other
things indispensable to the national defence. Not the
least of all his labors was acquainting himself with
military affairs and the best way of saving the Repub-
lic. For he was President, and no one else. While
ever ready to accept advice, and even to seek advice
from more experienced public servants in both civil
and military life, by which he shaped or corrected his
own opinions, he reserved the final decision to himself.
A leading member of the cabinet remarked, on one
occasion :
" The President is his own war-minister. He directs
personally the movements of the armies, and is fond of
strategy ; but pays much less attention to official duties
than is generally supposed."
It was so with all measures, whether civil or military.
While the head of each department was left untram-
melled in his particular work, and was held responsible
for the proper conduct of its affairs by the President, the
latter never relinquished his right of judgment. For
example, in his annual report to Congress, Senator
Cameron advised arming the slaves that they might
rise successfully against their masters — a measure that
had been persistently urged upon the President. As
Mr. Lincoln reserved the right of supervising affairs,
knowing that the great public would hold him respon
LIFE IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 343
sible, he carefully read the report. When he came to
that recommendation, surprised and almost indignant,
he drew his pen across it, remarking : —
" This will never do. Secretary Cameron must take
no such responsibility. That is a question that belongs
exclusively to me."
When the public heart was deeply touched by the
sufferings of our soldiers, who had fallen into the hands
of the rebels, and righteous indignation was aroused
over the cruelties of Libby prison and Andersonville,
there were not wanting public men who advised Mr.
Lincoln to subject the rebel prisoners in Northern
prisons to similar treatment by way of retaliation. But
the proposition outraged his feelings, and he said to
Mr. Odell: —
" I can never, never starve men like that. Whatever
others may say or do, I never can, and / never will, be
accessory to such treatment of human beings."
Many Republicans were dissatisfied with Mr. Cam-
eron as a member of the cabinet, and early in Mr.
Lincoln's administration, a delegation of bankers from
Boston and New York waited upon him to urge the re-
moval of the War Secretary. The President heard them
through, and was somewhat exercised over the weak-
ness of their arguments and the persistency of their
appeals. He cut short the interview by saying : —
" You talk very glibly, nevertheless I am not con-
vinced. Now, gentlemen, if you want General Cameron
removed, you have only to bring me ojie proved case of
dishonesty, and I promise you his ' head ; ' but I assure
you I am not going to act on what seems to me the
most unfounded gossip."
344 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
A congressional committee was appointed to examine
a newly invented gun, and report upon the same.
When the report was sent to Mr. Lincoln, who was
conferring with Hon. Mr. Hubbard of Connecticut,
upon the subject, he glanced at the voluminous docu-
ment of many manuscript pages, and said, - —
" I should want a new lease of life to read this through ! "
Then throwing it upon the table, he added, " Why can't
a committee of this kind occasionally exhibit a grain
of common sense ? If I send a man to buy a horse for
me, I expect him to tell me his points, not how many
hairs there are in his tail."
The celebrated case of Franklin W. Smith and his
brother, of Boston, who were unjustly arrested, im-
prisoned and persecuted for months, by a military
tribunal, on the pretext of defrauding the government,
is in point. Mr. Lincoln examined the case thoroughly,
and satisfied himself that the two brothers were inno-
cent. As soon as he reached that conclusion, he did
not hesitate to assume the responsibility, and issue the
following order, without fear or favor : —
" Whereas, Franklin W. Smith had transactions with the Navy
Department to the amount of one and a quarter millions of
dollars ; and whereas, he had the chance to steal a quarter of a
million, and was only charged with stealing twenty-two hundred
dollars — and the question now is about his stealing a hundred —
I don't believe he stole anything at all. Therefore, tne record
and findings are disapproved — declared null and void, and the
defendants are fully discharged."
These facts show that the President was firm as he
was lenient, — when firmness was necessary, and that
the oft-repeated charge, during his administration, of
LIFE IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 345
s< having no mind of his own," and being " destitute of
will power," was without foundation. He could even
resort to physical force when the exigencies of the
case demanded it, as the following incident shows : —
An officer of the army had been cashiered from the
service. Having prepared an elaborate, written de-
fence of himself he appeared before the President and
read it.
" According to your own statement of the case the
facts do not warrant executive interference," said Mr.
Lincoln.
The officer appeared the second and even the third
time, going over substantially the same ground in his
plea ; but with no better success. The President felt
that he was justly cashiered.
" I see you are not disposed to do me justice, Mr.
President," said the officer, at last, insultingly.
This was too aggravating for the even-tempered
President ; and, rising from his seat, he seized the
fellow by his coat collar, and thrust him out of the
door, saying :
" Sir, I give you fair warning never to show yourself
in this room again. I can bear censure, but not in'
suit ! "
The officer begged for his papers which he had
dropped.
"Begone, sir," replied the President; " your papers
will be sent to you. I never wish to see your face,
again."
The second year of his administration brought per-
sonal sorrow, in addition to the perplexities and trials
of his office. " I thought the war was all that I could
346 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
bear, but this great affliction is worse than war," he
said. His son, Willie, died, and "Tad" was in a dying
condition at the time. We record the circumstances
as related to us by Mrs. Rebecca R. Pomroy, a hos-
pital nurse of rare experience, whose services in
the family, at the time, were invaluable. Miss Dix
recommended her to Mr. Lincoln on the last day of
Willie's mortal life. Mrs. Pomroy had twenty or
thirty sick soldiers under her charge, and eight of
them were not expected to live through the day.
" How can I leave them ? " she said. " It is impos-
sible." " But you must," answered Miss Dix: "the
Lord's hand is plainly in it. I shall send for you in
two hours ; " and she did.
On arriving at the Executive Mansion, Miss Dix
conducted her into the green room, where the lifeless
remains of Willie had just been laid out. Thence, she
was taken to Mrs. Lincoln's chamber, where she was
lying quite sick. From Mrs. Lincoln's room she was
led into an adjoining one where little "Tad " lay in a
dying condition. The physicians had relinquished all
hope of his recovery and he was not expected to live
twenty-four hours. Mr. Lincoln was sitting by him
"the very picture of despair." "Mrs. Pomroy, Mr.
President," said Miss Dix. Mr. Lincoln arose, and
very heartily shook her hand, saying : —
"lam glad to see you : I have heard of you. You
have come to a sad house." His deep emotion choked
further utterance and the tears streamed down his
careworn cheeks.
Later both took seats beside "Tad's" cot — one on
each side. The little sufferer lay unconscious, appa-
LIFE IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 347
rently very near death. Soon a telegram from Port
Hudson was brought to the President.
"What news?" inquired Mrs. Pomroy.
" Oh, bad enough ; a terrible battle is going on at
Port Hudson ; we don't know how it will turn. I hope
God will give us the victory there : it will be a great
gain for us."
"We must pray that God may give us the vic-
tory," replied Mrs. Pomroy. "There is nothing like
prayer."
" True, very true," answered the President. "But
between this terrible war and this sorrow I am having
a sad time. Why is it ? Oh, why is it ? "
Later still the President looked up and inquired :
" What led you into the hospital service ? You
appear to be a feeble woman."
" God called me into the service. I took care of a
sick husband almost twenty years."
" What about your family," urged the President ;
" let me hear about it."
"My husband and three of my four children are
now on the other side. My living son is in the army."
" How mysteriously God deals with us ! " answered
Mr. Lincoln. " I trust that He will spare your son, and
in due time return you both to your home again. But
was this your call to the hospital service ? "
"Yes : through this service for my sick family.
God fitted me to take care of the soldiers, and he has
wonderfully sustained me by giving me strength far
beyond the expectation of my friends."
" How was it," continued the President, now greatly
interested in her story. "Tell me all about it."
34^ PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
"My mother died, and then my brother, and then
my little daughter, — my only daughter, the light of our
home — and then two sons, and, last of all, my dear
husband," Mrs. Pomroy answered calmly, as only a.
trusting Christian woman could. "When my husband
passed away, our little cottage with all its furniture
had to be sold in order to liquidate debts."
" How did you live ? " eagerly inquired Mr. Lincoln
at this point. "Tell me how you could bear so
much ? "
" By the grace of God, though I was far from being
what I ought to have been. My husband and all the
other dear members of my family died in the triumphs
of faith, so that I had great reason to be thankful,
and—"
"Were you resigned?" interrupted Mr. Lincoln.
" I was not wholly resigned then."
" Did you feel rebellious ? " he inquired, still more
earnestly.
" Yes ; I knew that ' whom the Lord loveth he
chasteneth,' but I could not understand it. I did not
think that He loved me> — I could not. Finally, how-
ever, I was brought into a higher Christian experience,
where I could say honestly, * The Lord gave and the
Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the
Lord.' "
" And how was that brought about ? " asked Mr.
Lincoln, as if he were passing through a similar" ex
perience.
Mrs. Pomroy rehearsed how Christian friends inter-
ested themselves to take her to a camp-meeting, when
her health was entirely prostrated. They thought
LIFE IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 349
that the change of scenes and the smell of the pine
grove might aid her more than physicians. " And
there," she added, "my soul was quickened, and I was
led to see how tenderly God had dealt with me, and
that his gracious discipline was suited to make me a
more efficient worker in his vineyard, if I only would
be true. From that time I have never even doubted
that God loves me."
" Can others enjoy a similar experience ? " the Presi-
dent inquired, "or is yours exceptional?"
" It is not exceptional, Mr. President ; it is just
what God promises to all who are willing to be led by
His will."
"And how can we know that we are led by His
will ? "
"Through sincere, earnest prayer," replied Mrs.
Pomroy. " Prayer has been everything to me. * Let
him that lacketh wisdom, ask of God, who giveth
liberally, and upbraideth not.' "
Much more was said in the same spirit, when the
President reverted again to his own great sorrow, —
Willie dead and "Tad" not expected to live until
sunrise, — and the burden of his country's perils
weighing heavily on his heart.
" Prayer can do what armies cannot," suggested
Mrs. Pomroy ; " and never were so many prayers
offered for a country as are offered for ours, and
never so many offered for a ruler as are offered for
you, Mr. President."
" I know it," answered Mr. Lincoln, deeply moved,
by the thought ; " and it is great encouragement to
me. Our cause is righteous, and I do believe that
350 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
God will give us the victory ; but this slaughtering of
men is dreadful for both sides."
Mrs. Pomroy had proposed that he should retire to
an adjoining room for rest, promising that she would
call him at the least change in "Tad."
" Pray for me," he said, as he arose to leave the
room ; and, looking down mournfully upon the little
sufferer, he added, " and pray for him, that he may be
spared, if it is God's will."
"And you pray yourself," responded Mrs. Pomroy.
" There is nothing like prayer in trouble : do you not
think so ? "
" I surely do," was the President's reply, as he
retired with weeping eyes and aching heart.
Very soon Mrs. Pomroy heard his own voice dis-
tinctly in prayer, commending himself, his family and
his country to God. " From that moment," she says,
" I felt that our cause would triumph. The President
interceding with God for it assured me."
Scarcely had he fallen asleep when a messenger
arrived with a telegram from Port Hudson. It was
carried directly to his room, when he sprung from the
bed, and, taking it to the door of the room where
"Tad" was lying, that he might read it by the gas
light, his eyes ran over it.
" Good news ! good news ! Mrs. Pomroy ; Port
Hudson is ours ! " he exclaimed, forgetting all sorrow
for the moment.
" There is nothing like prayer, Mr. President," re-
sponded Mrs. Pomroy.
"Yes, there is, praise," he promptly answered;
(< Prayer and praise must go together."
LIFE IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 35 l
"Tad" was somewhat improved on the following day
and he continued to improve, and finally recovered.
But Mr. Lincoln continued watching by his side for
three days and nights — he on one side of the cot and
Mrs. Pomeroy on the other • — leaving only at brief
intervals to recline upon the lounge or bed. His
public duties were left to Mr. Seward and his private
secretary. "It seemed as if he could not bear to leave
4 Tad ' for a moment," said Mrs. Pomeroy.
On the morning of Willie's funeral, Mrs. Pomeroy
expressed her deep sympathy for him, and called
his attention to the many prayers going up for him.
u I am glad to hear that," he answered, wiping his
tears : " I want they should pray for me. I need
their prayers, / will try to go to God with my sorrows."
Subsequently he said, " I wish I had that childlike
faith you speak of, and I trust that God will give it to
me."
On the second night of Mrs. Pomeroy's care of
"Tad" about eleven o'clock, Mr. Lincoln remarked,
" You don't know how much good your conversation
did me last night, Mrs. Pomeroy. I wish you would
tell me your remarkable experience again."
She complied with his request, and rehearsed the
whole of it over again, Mr. Lincoln interrupting her
occasionally by inquiries, as if he were intent upon
learning how to bear his own heavy burdens. Still
again, on the third night, he requested another re-
hearsal of that Christian experience. Often after-
wards, when riding to and from the Soldiers' Home, or
to the hospital where Mrs. Pomeroy's sick soldier boys
were, he would revert to that experience, and put some
352 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
question, or say, "It did me so much good." Once
a senator was going to the Soldiers' Home, where
Mrs. Pomeroy and "Tad" were at the time; and
Mr. Lincoln said to him : —
" I want you should see Mrs. Pomeroy, whose con-
versation did me so much good. Go and introduce
yourself to her, and tell her that I want you should
hear that experience."
At another time, on the way from the Soldiers'
Home to the Executive Mansion, he said to Mrs. Pome-
roy : " I don't know how I shall ever repay you for
what you have done for me. If I live through the war,
and retire from public life, I hope to be able to remu-
nerate you in some way."
In common with many friends, she warned him one
day against rebels in Washington who might assassi-
nate him, when he replied :
"I am in God's hand; let Him do with me what
seemeth good to Him."
He possessed his mother's old Bible, which he read
so much in his boyhood, and he was wont to read
it daily, usually just before he took his lunch. He
would throw himself upon the lounge, and read a few
moments. One day Mrs. Pomeroy entered his office
while he was thus reading on the lounge.
" What portion of the Bible do you like best, Mrs.
Pomeroy ? " he inquired.
"The psalms are my favorite," Mrs. Pomeroy an-
swered.
" Yes, the psalms have something for every day in
the week, and something for every poor fellow like
me," he responded.
LIFE IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 353
He was accustomed to carry his mother's Bible back
and forth from the Soldiers' Home, preferring to read
from it rather than use another. Speaking of that
Bible once, he added, " I had a good Christian mother,
and her prayers have followed me thus far through
life." Captain Mix, who was often in the family, says :
— " Many times have I listened to our most eloquent
preachers, but never with the same feeling of awe and
reverence, as when our Christian President, his arm
around ' Tad,' with his deep earnest tone, each morn-
ing read a chapter from the Bible."
He inquired very minutely into the method of
speaking with sick and dying soldiers — what she said
to them — how they answered her — how many of
them became Christians ? He accompanied her many
times to the hospital and witnessed her effective man-
agement and talked with the soldiers and encouraged
them. On learning that the managers of the hos-
pital, who were Roman Catholics, had forbidden the
Protestant nurses to pray with the soldiers, or read the
Bible to them, he promptly removed the restriction,
and allowed the Christian women henceforth to hold
prayer-meetings, read the Bible to the " boys " and
pray with them, as much as they pleased, adding : —
" If there was more praying and less swearing it
would be far better for our country, and we all need to
be prayed for, officers as well as privates, and if I was
near death I think I should like to hear prayer."
He took a lady to the Soldiers' Home in his carriage
one morning, with Mrs. Pomeroy, and the horses be-
came well-nigh unmanageable just where the severe
shower of the previous night had flooded the road.
-354 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
The ladies were very much frightened, and Mr. Lin-
coln directed the driver to hold one of the horses and
the footman the other, while he opened the door and
jumped out. Stripping up his pants to his knees, he
hastily brought three stones large enough to stand up-
on, and placing them so that the ladies could step
upon them, from one to the other, he speedily helped
them to the side-walk, remarking in a vein of humor,
" All through life be sure" you put your feet in the
right place, and then stand firm" Then, looking
down upon his very muddy boots, he said : — "I have
always heard of Washington mud, and now I shall
take home some as a sample."
We have given somewhat in detail these incidents
from Mrs. Pomeroy's experience, because they present
so clear a view of the man. His simplicity, tender-
ness, affection, frankness, freedom from pride and
ostentation, trust in Providence, and strong religious
convictions, — all appear unmistakably in these inci-
dents that cluster about his stay in the White House
and Soldiers' Home.
Willie died on Thursday, and, on the recurrence of
that day for several weeks, Mr. Lincoln shut himself
up in his room and indulged in excessive grief. Near
friends spoke to Dr. Vinton of New York, who was
visiting at Washington, of this practice, and urged him
to see the President. Accordingly he called upon him
and told him frankly that it was sinful to indulge in
such grief.
" Your son is alive in Paradise," said Dr. Vinton.
" Alive ! Alive ! " exclaimed the President, starting
to his feet ; " surely you mock me."
LIFE IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 355
" No, my dear sir, believe me ; Christ himself de-
clares it."
Mr. Lincoln looked at him a moment, then throwing
his arms about the clergyman's neck, and laying his
head upon his shoulders, sobbed aloud, repeating :
"Alive? Alive?"
Dr. Vinton comforted him by the words of Christ,
and for an hour, labored and prayed with him, closing
the interview by telling the President : "I have a
sermon upon this subject which I think might interest
you."
" Do send it to me as early as possible," Mr. Lin-
coln replied. Dr. Vinton forwarded the sermon, and
the sorrowing President read it over and over, and
then had it copied that he might enjoy the reading of
it yet more. A member of the family says : — " From
that time Mr. Lincoln's views in relation to spiritual
things were changed."
Mr. Lincoln was a devoted father, and his great
love for his children appeared in the White House in
its tender simplicity, as it did elsewhere. No matter
what dignitaries were about him, paternal affection
asserted itself without let or hindrance. The Hon.
W. D. Kelley, of Philadelphia, says : —
" His intercourse with his family was as beautiful as
that with his friends. I think that father never loved
his children more fondly than he. The President
never seemed grander in my sight than when, stealing
upon him in the evening, I would find him with a book
open before him, as he is represented in the popular
photograph, with little Tad beside him. There were
of course a great many curious books sent to him, and
356 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
it seemed one of the special delights of his life to open
those books at such an hour that his boy could stand
beside him, and they could talk as he turned over the
pages, the father thus giving to the son a portion of
that care and attention of which he was ordinarily de-
prived by the duties of office pressing upon him."
Mr. Carpenter writes : — "'No matter who was with
the President, or how intently he was absorbed, little Tad
was always welcome. At the time of which I write, he
was eleven years old, and of course rapidly passing
from childhood into youth. Suffering much from an
infirmity of speech which developed in his infancy, he
seemed on this account especially dear to his father.
' One touch of nature makes the whole world kin,'
and it was an impressive and affecting sight to me to
see the burdened President lost for the time being in
the affectionate parent, as he would take the little
fellow in his arms, upon the withdrawal of visitors, and
caress him with all the fondness of a mother for the
babe upon her bosom ! "
Several weeks after the death of Willie, Mr. Lincoln,
with several members of his Cabinet, spent a few days
at Fortress Monroe, watching military operations upon
rhe Peninsula. He improved his spare time there in
reading Shakespeare. One day he was reading
" Hamlet," when he called to his private secretary : —
" Come here, colonel : I want to read you a pas-
sage." The colonel responded, when the President
read the discussion on ambition between Hamlet and
his courtiers, and the soliloquy, in which conscience
debates about a future state. Then he read passages
from "Macbeth," and finally opened to the third act of
LIFE IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 357
" King John," where Constance bewails her lost boy.
Closing the book, and recalling the words, —
" And, father cardinal, I have heard you say-
That we shall see and know our friends in heaven :
If that be true I shall see my boy again," —
Mr. Lincoln said : " Colonel, did you ever dream of a
lost friend, and feel that you were holding sweet
communion with that friend, and yet have a sad con-
sciousness that it was not reality ? — just so I dream
of my boy Willie." Overcome with emotion, he
dropped his head on the table, and sobbed aloud.
Beautiful example of paternal love in the highest
place of the land ! The millions of fathers over whom
he ruled found in him a worthy father to imitate !
President Lincoln's humor often exposed him to
criticism. His frequent stories often elicited censure.
Persons who did not understand him charged him
with being light and trifling, when sadness and sorrow
were more becoming. There was no ground for this
censure. Mr. Lincoln told stories in the White House
just as he did anywhere else. The simplicity of his
character led him to be, when President, just what he
was as a friend and neighbor. Then, he told stories
for two reasons. First, he told them to point and en-
force the subject in hand. Mr. Herndon, his law-part-
ner for many years, remarks upon this peculiarity of
the man : —
" It is said that Newton saw an apple fall to the
ground from a tree, and beheld the law of the universe
in that fall ; Shakespeare saw human nature in the
laugh of a man ; Professor Owen saw the animal in its
35§ PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
claw ; and Spencer saw the evolution of the universe
in the growth of a seed. Nature was suggestive to all
these men. Mr. Lincoln no less saw philosophy in a
story, and a schoolmaster in a joke. . . . The world,
fact, man, principle, — all had their powers of sugges-
tion to his susceptible soul. They continually put him
in mind of something. He was often perplexed to
give expression to his ideas : first, because he was not
master of the English language ; and, secondly, because
fhere were no words in it containing the coloring,
sh.ape, exactness, power, and gravity, of his ideas. He
was frequently at a loss for a word, and hence was
compelled to resort to stories, maxims, and jokes to
embody his idea, that it might be comprehended.
" But more and better than that, in the White House
he found recreation and relief in story-telling. He
told them that he read Shakespeare and the ' Nasby
Papers,' to help him endure the labors of his official
position. He indulged in wit and humor when he felt
more like crying. Indeed, he indulged them, often, in
order to keep from crying. As he said to a member
of Congress, when he was greatly distressed for the
country. ' Were it not for this occasional vent I
should die.' He kept a copy of 'Nasby Papers' in
his desk, as an antidote for depression. He found re-
lief in their perusal. He once said to a friend, ' I think
of writing to 'Petroleum' to come down here, and I
shall tell him, if he will impart his talent to me, I will
swap places with him.' "
Speaking of this peculiarity of the President, a Con-
gressman said, "It is his life preserver." He was se-
verely criticized for it by the journals. Many stories
LIFE IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 359
and jokes were ascribed to him, which he never told.
A volume of them was issued in New York, under the
title, " Old Abe's Jokes." A friend submitted a copy
of the work to him, with the request that he should re-
port how many of the stories were genuine. His report
was " six "out of the whole number. Still, the attacks
upon him only elicited more wit. After examining a
gun so constructed as to prevent the escape of gas, he
remarked, " I really believe this does what it is repre-
sented to do. But do any of you know of any machine
or invention, for preventing the escape of gas from
newspaper establishments ? " At a time when the pub-
lic journals teemed with assaults upon him, for alleged
acts and sayings that never occurred, Mrs. Secretary
Welles called attention to certain reports. "The pa-
pers are not always reliable" responded one present.
"That is to say, Mrs. Welles," interjected Mr. Lincoln,
" they lie, and then they re-lie ! " He " could bear cen-
sure," as he said, "but not insult." A friend pro-
posed that he should contradict a particular false report
in a leading journal; but he replied, "Oh, no ; if I
were to try to read, much less answer, all the attacks
made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any
other business. I do the very best I know how, —
the very best I can ; and I mean to keep doing so
until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what
is said against me won't amount to anything. If the
end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was
right would make no difference."
His grand magnanimity never appeared to greater
advantage than it did when, after all his trials with
General McClellan, before he removed him, and after
360 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
he had facetiously remarked that he " would like to
borrow his army if he had no use for it," and given as
a reason why the General did not reply to the " Chi-
cago letter," "he is entrenching" — he remarked to
another, " so pleasant and scholarly a gentleman can
never fail to secure personal friends. In fact,
' Even his failings lean to virtue's side.' "
Also, when Stonewall Jackson fell in battle, and the
Washington Chronicle spoke well of him as a brave
soldier but mistaken man, Mr. Lincoln wrote to the
editor : —
" I honor you for your generosity to one who, though
contending against us in a guilty cause, was neverthe-
less a gallant man. Let us forget his sins over his
fresh-made grave."
His humor, kindness, and magnanimity appeared to
go hand in hand, presenting one of the most unique,
genial, and remarkable characters ever found in public
life.
In this connection his art of putting things deserves
attention. Mr. Lincoln understood it to perfection ;
and these remarkable sallies often exposed him to se-
vere criticisms. For example, the report of the cap-
ture of a Union brigadier and squad of cavalry, near
Fairfax Court House, by rebel guerillas, was brought
to him. The brigadier had proved to be incompetent.
" I am very sorry to lose the horses," responded the
President, on receipt of the news.
"What do you mean?" inquired his informant,
somewhat startled by his seemingly heartless words.
"Why," rejoined the President, " I can make a bet-
LIFE IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 36 1
ter brigadier any day ; but those horses cost the gov-
ernment one hundred and twenty-five dollars apiece."
It was customary for the Secretary of State to write
the President's speeches to foreign ministers, and, per-
haps, home delegations. A messenger entered the
President's room one day, saying, " The Secretary has
sent the speech you are to make to-day to the Swiss
minister." Mr. Lincoln received it, smiling, and then,
as if to ridicule the practice, and intimate that he
could make his own speeches, he remarked, loud
enough for all present to hear : —
" Oh, this is a speech Mr. Seward has written for
me, is it ? I guess I will try it before these gentle-
men and see how it goes." .: le proceeded to read it
aloud, in a waggish manner, and remarked, as he closed
it, " There, I like that. It has the merit of originality."
\ delegation from the West waited upon him to
protest against some of his measures. After having
listened to their complaints, he answered : —
'" Gentlemen, suppose all the property you were
worth was in gold, and you had put it into the hands of
Blondin to carry across the Niagara river on a rope,
would you shake the cable, or keep shouting out to
him, 'Blondin, stand up straighter — Blondin, stoop a
little more — go a little faster — lean a little more to
the north — lean a little more to the south.' No, you
would hold your breath as well as your tongue, and keep
your hands off until he was safe over. The govern-
ment are carrying an immense weight. Untold
treasures are in their hands. They are doing the
very best they can. Don't badger them. Keep
silence, and we will get you safe across."
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Another delegation came to open his eyes to the
"breakers ahead." Mr. Lincoln thought they magni-
fied the perils ; and so he told a story. " You remind
me of the schoolboy," he said, " who found difficulty
in pronouncing the Scripture names, ' Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego.' The teacher had drilled
him repeatedly in the pronunciation of these names.
One day the teacher purposely took the same lesson in
Bible reading, and managed to have this boy read the
passages, containing these names, again. As the dull
pupil came to them, he stopped, looked up, and said :
* Teacher, there's them three fellers ag'in.' "
A clergyman remarked to him : " The Lord is on
our side."
" I am not at all concerned about that," replied Mr.
Lincoln ; " for I know that the Lord is always on the
side of the right. But it is my constant anxiety and
prayer that / and this nation should be on the Lord's
side."
A whole volume of similar incidents might be fur-
nished, not one of them showing that Mr. Lincoln was
thoughtless and trifling ; but, on the other hand, that
it was his unique, peculiar and pat way of putting the
case clearly before those who approached him. In his
felicitous handling of a subject, a story or witticism
was often more convincing than argument. For this
reason he employed them. The genius and real ability
of the man often cropped out through this mode of
speaking, so peculiarly his own. One of our best
writers put the literary character of President Lincoln
and his wonderful tact so tersely before the people that
wc quote it here. It was penned before the death of
LIFE IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 363
Mr. Lincoln ; and the paragraph is not only a faithful por-
trait of the man, but the style of the composition is more
like his than any piece of composition we have seen : —
" His questions are answers, and his answers questions ; his
guesses prophecies, his fulfilment ever beyond his promise ;
honest yet shrewd ; simple, yet reticent ; heavy, yet energetic ;
never despairing, never sanguine ; careless in forms, conscientious
in essentials ; never sacrificing a good servant once trusted,
never deserting a good principle once adopted ; not afraid of new
ideas, nor despising old ones ; improving opportunities to confess
mistakes ; ready to learn ; getting at facts ; doing nothing wnen
he knows not what to do ; hesitating at nothing, when he sees
the right ; lacking the recognized qualities of a party leader, and
leading his party as no other man can ; sustaining his political
enemies in Missouri in their defeat, sustaining his political friends
in Maryland in their victory; conservative in his sympathies,
and radical in his acts ; Socratic in his style, and Baconian in his
'method ; his religion consisting in truthfulness, temperance ; ask-
ing good people to pray for him, and publicly acknowledging in
events the hand of God, — yet he stands before you as the type
of ' Brother Jonathan,' a not perfect man, and yet more precious
than fine gold."
Mr. Lincoln, like Washington, was continually show-
ing, without design on his part, his sincere trust in
Providence, as well as his great respect for the insti-
tutions of Christianity. After a serious defeat of the
Union forces near Washington, he remarked to a friend,
" I have done the best I could. I have asked God to
guide me, and now I must leave the event with him."
At another time, two hundred members of the Chris-
tian Commission called upon him, and George H. Stu-
art s], oke, in their behalf, of the debt of gratitude the
public owed him. Mr. Lincoln replied : —
" My friends : You owe me no gratitude for what I
364 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
have done; and I — " (and here he hesitated as if he
feared being misunderstood in what he was about to
say) — " and I, I may say, owe you no gratitude for
what you have done ; just as, in a sense, we owe no
gratitude to the men who have fought our battles for
us. I trust that this has been for us all a work of
duty. All the gratitude is due to the great Giver of
all good."
At another time he replied to Dr. J. T. Duryea and
other members of the Commission as follows : —
"If it were not for my belief in an over-ruling Prov-
idence, it would be difficult for me, in the midst of
such complications, to keep my reason on its seat.
But I am confident that the Almighty has his plans,
and will work them out ; and, whether we see it or
not, they will be the wisest and best for us. I have
always taken counsel of Him, and referred to Him my
plans, and have never adopted a course of proceeding
without being assured, as far as I could be, of his ap-
probation."
At another time he said to friends, " I have been
driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming
conviction that I had nowhere else to go." And
again, " I should be the most presumptuous blockhead
upon this footstool, if I for one day thought that I
could discharge the duties which have come upon me
since I came into this place, without the aid and
enlightenment of One who is wiser and stronger than
all others."
In the early part of the war he issued an order for
the better observance of the Sabbath in the army. In
the order he said : " The importance for man and
LIFE IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 3^5
beast of the prescribed weekly rest, the sacred rights
of Christian soldiers and sailors, a becoming deference
to the best sentiment of a Christian people, and a due
regard for the Divine Will, demand that Sunday labor
in the army and navy be reduced to the measure of
strict necessity."
The prevalence of profane swearing among the
soldiers was rebuked in the same order ; and he said :
" The discipline and character of the national forces
should not suffer, nor the cause they defend be
imperilled by the profanation of the day or name
of the Most High." And he enforced the order
by the example of Washington, saying : ■ — "At this
time of public distress, adopting the words of Washing-
ton in 1776, ' men may find enough to do in the service
of God and their country without abandoning them-
selves to vice and immorality.' The first general
order issued by the Father of his Country after the
Declaration of Independence indicates the spirit in
which our institutions were founded and should ever
be defended : ' The General hopes and trusts that
every officer and man will endeavor to live and act as
becomes a Christian soldier defending the dearest
rights and liberties of his country.' "
Intemperance in the army he deeply deplored.
Both by word and pen he sought to expose the perils
of drinking habits among officers and privates, es-
pecially the former. His own example enforced his
counsels with great power. For he continued to be the
same uncompromising teetotaller at Washington that he
had been elsewhere. The White House was run upon
teetotal principles, as strictly so as his humble home
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in Springfield. In Washington circles, where the wine
cup went round, he was always passed by out of re-
spect to his temperance principles. At one time a
delegation of the Sons of Temperance waited on him.
In his reply, he said: "When I was a young man,
long ago, before the Sons of Temperance, as an organ-
ization, had an existence, I, in my humble way, made
temperance speeches ; and I think I can say that
my example has never belied the position I then took."
And when he read a petition from the women of
Massachusetts, praying for the suppression of intem-
perance in the army, .he exclaimed: "Dear, good
souls ! if they only knew how much I have tried to
remedy this great evil, they would be rejoiced."
Notwithstanding his great weight of labors for the
country, President Lincoln did not wholly neglect
literary studies. He found necessary recreation in his
books, and both poetry and prose often brought relief
to him in seasons of depression and exhaustion. A
California lady, who, with several other women, visited
the cemetery at the Soldiers' Home in company with
Mr. Lincoln, writes : —
" While we stood in the soft evening air, watching
the faint trembling of the long tendrils of waving wil-
low, and feeling the dewy coolness that was flung out
by the old oaks above us, Mr. Lincoln joined us, and
stood silent, too, taking in the scene.
" ' How sleep the brave who sink to rest
By all their country's wishes blest,' —
he said softly.
" There was something so touching in the picture
LIFE IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 367
opened before us, — the nameless graves, the solemn
quiet, the tender twilight air, but more particularly
our own feminine disposition to be easily melted, I
suppose, — that it made us cry as if we stood beside
the tomb of our own dead, and gave point to the lines
he quoted : —
" '' And women o'er the graves shall weep,
Where nameless heroes calmly sleep.' "
One day he surprised some of his most intimate
friends by his very just, discriminating remarks upon
some of the plays of Shakespeare.
" There is one passage in the play of ' Hamlet,' " he
said, " which is very apt to be slurred over by the actor,
or omitted altogether, which seems to me the choicest
of the play. It is the soliloquy of the king, after the
murder. It always struck me as one of the finest
touches in the world."
Then, with still more surprise, his friends witnessed
his truly dramatic exhibition of the scene, as he
recited the whole passage of nearly forty lines, begin-
ning:—
" Oh, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven ;
It hath the primal eldest curse upon it,
A brother's murder ! "
He recited it from memory, throwing himself into
the scene with remarkable abandon and tact. Then
he went on : —
"The opening of the play of 'King Richard III/
seems to me often entirely misapprehended. It is
quite common for an actor to come upon the stage,
and, in a sophomoric style, to begin with a flourish : - -
$68 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
' Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun of York,
And all the clouds that lowered upon our house,
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried ! '
" Now," said he, " this is all wrong. Richard, you
remember, had been, and was then, plotting the de-
struction of his brothers, to make room for himself.
Outwardly the most loyal to the newly crowned king,
secretly he could scarcely contain his impatience at
the obstacles still in the way of his own elevation.
He appears upon the stage, just after the crowning of
Edward, burning with repressed hate and jealousy.
The prologue is the utterance of the most intense
bitterness and satire."
Then, assuming the character, perhaps without de-
sign, he repeated Richard's soliloquy with so much
effect, that Mr. Carpenter, who was present, says : —
" It seemed like a new creation to me. Though fa-
miliar with the passage from boyhood, I can truly say
that never till that moment had I fully appreciated its
spirit."
A delegation of the "Christian Commission " waited
upon him, and, in reply to their address, he said : —
" I desire, also, to add to what I have said, that
there is one association whose object and motives I
have never heard in any degree impugned or ques-
tioned [a sly rebuke at the unjust criticisms and fault-
finding that prevailed] ; and that is the ' Christian
Commission.' And, as Shakespeare says," he added,
"that is a record, gentlemen, of which you may justly
be proud." Then, as if to correct himself, he re-
marked, " I believe, however, it is 'Jack Falstaff ' who
LIFE IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 369
talks about 'villainy/ though, of course, Shakespeare
is responsible."
The particular circumstances of the country, or
some phase of his personal experience, appear to have
been the occasion generally of these and kindred drafts
upon his literary resources.
N. P. Willis, the poet, was riding with him one day,
when some remark or scene drew out the following
from the poet's " Parrhasius" :
" Oh, if there were no better hopes than these —
Were there no palm beyond a feverish fame, —
If the proud wealth flung back upon the heart
Must canker in its coffers, — if the links
Falsehood has broken will unite no more ;
If the deep-yearning love, that has not found
Its like in the cold world, must waste in tears;
If truth, and fervor, and devotedness,
Finding no worthy altar, must return
And die of their own fulness ; if beyond
The grave there is no heaven in whose wide air
The spirit may find room, and in the love
Of whose bright habitants the lavish heart
May spend itself, — what thrice-mock' 'd fools are we/"
Mr. Willis was both surprised and delighted with
this evidence of familiarity with his writings, and the
handsome compliment so gracefully tendered.
We do not design to speak at length of Mr. Lin-
coln's mental ability ; that has appeared, incidentally,
from« the beginning of our story. Enough has been
quoted from his lip and pen to prove that Senator
Trumbull's brief tribute was not exaggerated, " He is
a giant ; and without the prefix ' Little ' to it, a giant
in intellect as well as in stature." In the light of what
370 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
has been said, the words of that noted Englishman,
Goldwin Smith, are pertinent : " He met the most
terrible of all emergencies with ability and self-posses-
sion, as well, probably, as it would have been met by
any European sovereign or statesman whom you could
name"
However, this chapter should not close without his
eloquent and beautiful address at the dedication of the
national cemetery at Gettysburg, November 18, 1863.
Its originality and classic diction must commend it to
the favorable consideration of the ripest scholars : — ■
" Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth
upon this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedi-
cated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now
we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation,
or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.
We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We are met to
dedicate a portion of it as the final resting-place of' those who
here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether
fitting and proper that we should do this.
" But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot conse-
crate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and
dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our
power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long
remember what we say here ; but it can never forget what they
did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to
the unfinished work that they have thus far so nobly carried on.
It is rather for us here to be dedicated to the great task remain-
ing before us — that from these honored dead we take increased
devotion to the cause for which they here gave the last full
measure of devotion, — that we here highly resolve that the dead
shall not have died in vain, that the nation shall, under God,
have a new birth of freedom, and that the government. of the
people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from
the earth."
LIFE IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 37 1
We have intentionally omitted President Lincoln's
care of the soldiers and colored race during his life in
the White House, that we might devote a chapter to
each subject, both on account of the intrinsic impor-
tance of each, and the clear and interesting view of
his character which they afford.
CHAPTER XXV.
-IIS GREAT INTEREST IN SOLDIERS.
ROM the time of President Lincoln's first
call for troops, his life in the White House
brought him into intimate relations with
Union soldiers. At once he bestowed upon
them his most tender regard, which they reciprocated
with kindred heartiness. He was called by the endear-
ing name of "Father Abraham" in the army; and
they were called by him in the White House, "the
boys." Our presentation of his public career would
be very deficient without special attention to his
fatherly service in their behalf. The controlling
thought of his mind on this subject was expressed
in the following words :
" This extraordinary war in which we are engaged
falls heavily upon all classes of people, but the most
heavily upon the soldier. For it has been said, • all that
a man hath will he give for his life ' ; and, while all
£ontribute of their substance, the soldier puts his life
at stake, and often yields it up in his country's cause.
The highest mijrit, then, is due to the soldier ! "
He spoke somewhat from experience. His brief
service in the " Black Hawk War," where the provisions
HIS GREA T INTEREST IN SOLDIERS. 373
for personal comfort were small, made him familiar
with the hardships of soldier-life. He knew from per-
sonal experience how many and great privations are
inseparable from army service ; and no doubt this
knowledge intensified the natural love in his heart for
the loyal and patriotic " boys in blue."
Some public men claimed that the President ought
not to be interrupted and annoyed by so many applica-
tions from soldiers and their friends, — that some one
of the military commissions, or a special one, should
relieve him of this burden. But he would consent to
no such arrangement. The " boys " belonged to his
family, and he would enjoy a fatherly watch over them.
There was reason for the suggestion, since his daily
duties as President occupied every moment of his
time, and, as we have seen, worried and wearied him
beyond measure. The reader can scarcely understand
how he could devote any time at all to the soldiers,
when he reads the following description of his daily
work, as given by parties who saw him every day.
" Mr. Lincoln is an early riser, and he thus is able
to devote two or three hours each morning to his
voluminous private correspondence, besides glancing
at a city paper. At nine, he breakfasts ; then walks
over to the War Office to read such war telegrams as
they give him, and to have a chat with General Hal-
leck on the military situation, in which he takes a
great interest. Returning to the White House, he
goes through with his morning's mail, in company
with a private secretary, who makes a- minute of the
reply which he is to make ; and others the President
retains, that he may answer them himself. Every
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letter receives attention ; and all which are entitled to
a reply, receive one, no matter how they are worded,
or how inelegant the chirography may be. Tuesdays
and Fridays are cabinet days ; but, on the other days,
visitors at the White House are requested to wait in
the ante-chamber, and send in their cards. Some-
times, before the President has finished reading his
mail, Louis will have a handful of pasteboard ; and,
from the cards laid before him, Mr. Lincoln has visitors
ushered in, giving precedence to acquaintances. Three
or four hours do they pour in, in rapid succession,
nine out of ten asking offices ; and patiently does the
President listen to their application. . . . The
simple and natural manner in which he delivers his
thoughts makes him appear to those visiting him like
an earnest, affectionate friend. At four o'clock, the
President declines seeing any more company, and
sometimes accompanies his wife in her carriage to take
a ride. . . . He dines at six ; and it is rare that
some personal friends do not grace the round dining-
table, where he throws off the cares of office, and
reminds those who have been in Kentucky of the old-
school gentlemen, who used to dispense generous
hospitality there."
Another writer adds : " At night, from ten to twelve,
he usually makes a tour all round, — now at Secretary
Seward's, and then at General Halleck's ; and, if Gen-
eral Burnside was nearer, he would see him each night
before he went to bed. Those who know his habits,
and want to see him late at night, follow him round
from place to place ; and the last search generally
brings him up at General Halleck's, as he can get the
HIS GREA T INTEREST IN SOLDIERS. 375
latest army intelligence there. Whoever else is asleep
or indolent, the President is wide awake and around."
How a public servant, under such a constant press-
ure of care, could find time to listen to every complaint
of soldiers and their friends, many of the cases requir-
ing much time to investigate, and also visit hospitals
and go to the front to " see how the boys are getting
along," the reader can scarcely understand. But he
did, as the very interesting incidents we shall relate
abundantly show. There is evidence that his heart
was not so thoroughly absorbed in any other depart-
ment of his work as it was in this. He fully real-
ized that the life of the nation hung upon the
life of the soldier — that the appeal from the bal-
lot to the bullet was a dire necessity — hence, he
thought, "the highest merit is due to the soldier;"
and he never belied that sentiment. To the day of
his death, he treated soldiers as if they were really of
more consequence, in the fearful crisis, than governors
and senators. On one occasion, when there was so
great a crowd at one of his receptions that hand-shak-
ing was discontinued, the President stood and bowed
his acknowledgments to senators and representatives ;
but finally, observing a wounded soldier enter with his
poorly-clad mother, he hastily left his position, crowded
his way to the couple, and taking them both by the
hand, he gave them a most cordial welcome, congratu-
lating the woman upon having so patriotic a son, and
expressing his 'sympathy for the son in his disabled
condition. It was a very affecting demonstration, and
it brought tears to the eyes of many spectators. The
President simply acted what he had said again and
376 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
again, "the highest merit is due to the soldier." All
who witnessed the hearty greeting were satisfied that
Mr. Lincoln meant what he said.
In this and other incidents to be related, the true
Republican simplicity of Mr. Lincoln's character apj
pears. Official distinction obtruded no barrier between
his own honest heart and that of the brave and true
soldier.
One day he was going through a passageway to his
private room for a cup of tea, when he heard the cry
of a child. He returned immediately to his office, and
rang the bell ; Daniel responded promptly.
" Daniel, is there a woman with a baby in the ante-
room ? "
"There is, Mr. President; and she has been there
three days," Daniel replied. "There has been no
chance for her to get in."
" Go at once, and send her to me," he said, adding
some words of regret that she had been overlooked.
The woman, with the baby in her arms, was soon in his
presence, pleading for her husband, who was sentenced
to be shot as a deserter from the army. There were
several extenuating circumstances, and the President
granted her request, writing his decision upon a slip
of paper.
" There, my dear woman," he said, " you take that,
and it will bring back your husband," at the same time
directing her where to go with the document. Con-
vulsive sobs of joy were all the response the glad
woman could make, as she retired. Daniel went up to
her, and pulled her shawl, saying, " Madam, it was the
baby that did it."
HIS GREA T INTEREST IN SOLDIERS. 37?
Hon. W. D. Kelley said to the President, " There is
a lad on the gunboat Ottawa, who has shown the
mettle of a man in two serious engagements. Can you
not send him to the naval school? You have the
authority to send three boys there annually, who have
served one year in the navy."
"Perhaps so," responded the President; "let me
hear more about it." Mr. Kelley rehearsed, in detail,
the heroic deeds of the boy.
" If the appointments for this year have not been
made, let this boy be appointed," he wrote at once to
the Secretary of the Navy, passing the message to Mr.
Kelley.
. The appointment was made ; but it was found the
lad was not quite fourteen years of age. " I think the
President can make it right," said Mr. Kelley to him ;
and he took the lad to Mr. Lincoln.
" Mr. President," said Kelley, " my young friend,
Willie Bladen, finds a difficulty about his appointment.
You have directed him to appear at the school in July,
and he will not be fourteen until September." Willie
bowed in a graceful, soldierly way to the President.
"Bless me!" exclaimed Mr. Lincoln, laying down
his spectacles; "is that the boy who did so gallantly
in those two great battles ? Why, I feel I should bow
to him, and not he to me." Then, taking the order
previously written, he changed it from July to Septem-
ber ; and putting his hand lovingly on Willie's head,
he said :
" Now, my noble boy, go home, and have a good
time during the two months, for they are about the
last holiday you will get."
37% PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
Willie bowed himself out, remarking to an acquaint-
ance, " I should like to have a game of romps with that
man."
A small, pale, delicate-looking boy waited in the
crowd to see the President. Observing him, Mr. Lin-
coln said, " Come here, my boy, and tell me what you
want."
Advancing timidly, the little fellow placed his hand
on the arm of the President's chair, and said: —
" Mr. President, I have been a drummer in a regi-
ment for two years, and my colonel got angry with me,
and turned me off. I was taken sick and have been a
long time in the hospital. This is the first time I have
been out, and I came to see if you could not do some-
thing for me."
His plea touched Mr. Lincoln's heart, and he replied
by asking the boy, —
" Where do you live, my son ?"
"I have no home," the lad answered sadly.
" Where is your father ? "
" He died in the army some time ago."
" Where is your mother?"
"My mother is dead also. I have no father, no
mother, no brothers, no sisters, and," bursting into
tears, "no friends — nobody cares for me."
Mr. Lincoln's eyes filled with tears, and his lips
quivered for a moment, when he continued, —
"Can't you sell newspapers?"
" No, I am too weak ; and the surgeon told me I
must leave the hospital, and I have no money, and no-
where to go to."
The President could say no more ; and he drew forth
HIS GREA T INTEREST IN SOLDIERS. 379
a card, and wrote on it, " Take care of this poor boy,"
directing it to the proper official ; then handed it to
the lad, whose face lit up with a smile because he had
found a true friend in the President.
A citizen of Washington tells the following : —
" I was waiting my turn to speak to the President
one day, when my attention was attracted by the sad
patient face of a woman advanced in life, who in a
faded hood and shawl was among the applicants for an
interview.
" Presently Mr. Lincoln turned to her, saying in his
accustomed manner, ' Well, my good woman, what can
I do for you this morning ? ' * Mr. President,' said
she, 'my husband and three sons all went into the
army. My husband was killed in the fight at . I
get along very badly since then, living all alone, and I
thought I would come and ask you to release to me my
oldest son.' Mr. Lincoln looked into her face a mo-
ment, and in his kindest accents responded, ' Certainly !
certainly ! If you have given us all, and your prop has
been taken away, you are justly entitled to one of your
boys ! ' He immediately made out an order discharg-
ing the young man, which the woman took, and thank-
ing him gratefully, went away.
" I had forgotten the circumstance," continued
M , "till last week, when happening to be here
again, who should come in but the same woman. It
appeared that she had gone herself to the front, with
the President's order, and found the son she was in
search of had been mortally wounded in a recent en-
gagement, and taken to a hospital. She found the
hospital, but the boy was dead, or died while she was
380 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
there. The surgeon in charge made a memorandum
of the facts upon the back of the President's order,
and almost broken-hearted, the poor woman had found
her way again into Mr. Lincoln's presence. He was
much affected by her appearance and story, and said :
' I know what you wish me to do now, and I shall do
it without your asking ; I shall release to you your
second son.' Upon this, he took up his pen and com-
menced writing the order. While he was writing, the
poor woman stood by his side, the tears running down
her face, and passed her hand softly over his head,
stroking his rough hair, as I have seen a fond mother
caress a son. By the time he had finished writing, his
own heart and eyes were full. He handed her the
paper : ' Now,' said he, 'you have one and / one of the
other two left : that is no more than right.' She took
the paper, and reverently placing her hand again upon
his head, the tears still upon her cheeks, said : ' The
Lord bless you, Mr. Lincoln. May you live a thousand
years, and may you always be the head of this great
nation!' "
Hon. Thaddeus Stevens accompanied an elderly lady
to the President, to ask for the pardon of her son, who
had been sentenced to death by a court-martial. Mr.
Stevens knew that there were circumstances on which
pardon could be reasonably based. After the Presi-
dent had listened to the woman's story, he turned to
Mr. Stevens.
" Mr. Stevens, do you think this is a case that will
warrant my interference ? "
" Yes ; I should have no hesitation in granting a
pardon," Mr. Stevens replied.
HIS GREA T INTEREST IN SOLDIERS. 38 1
"Then I will pardon him," and he proceeded to exe-
cute the papers. The mother's heart was too full for
utterance. Her deep emotion, as she turned away,
told how deep her gratitude was. On the way down
stairs, when she could sufficiently control her feelings
to speak, she broke out suddenly : —
" I knew it was a copperhead lie ! "
" What do you refer to, madam ? " inquired Mr.
Stevens.
" Why, they told me he was an ugly-looking man,
and it's a lie. He is the handsomest man I ever saw
in my life."
Speaker Colfax interceded for , the pardon of a son
of one of his constituents, who had been sentenced to
be shot. It was in the evening, and Mr. Lincoln was
wearied by incessant calls, and wanted rest. He
granted the request of Mr. Colfax, and said : —
" Some of our generals complain that I impair
discipline and subordination in the army by my par-
dons and respites, but it makes me rested, after a hard
day's work, if I can find some good excuse for saving
a man's life, and I go to bed happy as I think how
joyous the signing of my name will make him and his
family and his friends."
Senator Harris, of New York, interceded for the
reprieve of a young soldier, who was imprisoned at
Elmira, N. Y., awaiting the sentence of death. His
friends had been to the Secretary of War to intercede
for the condemned young man ; but the Secretary only
replied : —
" Can do nothing for him ; it is an aggravated case."
True, it did seem like an aggravated case, for the
3$2 PSONEEX HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
fellow had deserted three times, and once attempted
to poison his guards ; but he had been of unsound
mind. Evidence of his insanity was laid before Sena-
tor Harris, who became fully convinced that Executive
clemency ought to save the soldier from death. It
was twelve o'clock on Wednesday night when the
senator went to the President, and the soldier was to
be executed on Thursday. The President was in bed.
A messenger was sent to his room to announce that
Senator Harris desired to see him upon important
business.
" Let him come in," Mr. Lincoln said.
Senator Harris was soon at his bedside. " The boy
is insane," he said ; " there can be no question about
it, — an irresponsible lad, and his execution would be
murder."
" And you are satisfied that these are the facts in
the case ?" replied Mr. Lincoln, inquiringly.
" Perfectly so. Besides, it is not a pardon that we
ask, but a reprieve until a medical examination can be
made."
"Well, that is reasonable and just," responded Mr.
Lincoln. " The boy shall be reprieved."
He arose immediately, and ordered a telegram to be
sent to Elmira at once, delaying the execution of the
condemned. Early in the morning he sent another.
And before the hour of execution arrived, he sent four
telegrams by different lines, fearing that, by some mis-
fortune, the reprieve might not reach him.
At another time, Judge Kellogg, of New York, in-
terceded for the son of one of his neighbors, sentenced
by court-martial to be shot the next day. It was near
HIS GREA T INTEREST IN SOLDIERS. 383
midnight when he reached the White House, and the
President had retired. First, however, he went to the
Secretary of War, thinking he might accomplish his
purpose without disturbing the President.
" Too many cases of this kind have been let off
now," replied the secretary; "it is quite time to make
an example of somebody."
" But there are reasons enough for pardoning him,"
urged the judge ; and he proceeded to enumerate
them.
"Nevertheless, I shall not interfere," still insisted
the unmoved secretary.
"Well, Mr. Secretary," exclaimed the judge, under
much excitement, " the boy is not going to be shot, you
may be sure of that."
He hurried away to the White House, where the
sentinel intercepted him, saying : —
"My orders are to admit no one to-night."
" But I must go in : it is a case of life and death,"
urged the judge, persistently.
" That fact cannot modify my orders," answered the
sentinel.
" I must go in ; and I will take the responsibility,"
continued the judge. And he entered, going directly
to the President's sleeping-room without the ceremony
of sending his card. Opening the door, he said,
hurriedly and excitedly : —
"Mr. President, a dispatch just received informs
me that the son of one of my neighbors is to be shot
to-morrow ; and I want you to save his life."
" What is he to be shot for ? " inquired Mr. Lincoln.
" I don't know, and I can't help what he may have
384 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
done. Why, he is an old neighbor of mine, and I
can't allow him to be shot," Judge Kellogg continued,
under increasing heat.
" Well," answered Mr. Lincoln, " I don't believe that
snooting him will do him any good. Bring me a pen."
Without getting out of bed, he wrote a pardon for the
judge to forward at once to the boy so near his doom.
Benjamin Owen, a young soldier of Vermont, was
sentenced to be shot for sleeping at his post. The
family were plunged into agony by the dreadful tidings.
For some reason, a reprieve was granted him for sev-
eral days, when he wrote the following letter to his
father :
"Dear Father, — When this reaches you I shall be in
eternity. At first it seemed awful to me, but I have thought
about it so much now that it has no terror. They say they will
not bind me, but that I may meet my death like a man
You know I promised Jemmy Carr's mother I would look after her
boy, and when he fell sick I did all I could for him. He was not
strong when he was ordered back into the ranks, and the day
before that night, I carried all his luggage, besides my own, on
cur march. Toward night we went in on double quick, and
though the luggage began to feel very heavy, everybody else was
tired, too ; and as for Jemmy, if I had not lent him an arm now
and then he would have dropped by the way. I was all tired out
when I came into camp, and then, it was Jemmy's turn to be
sentry, and I would take his place ; but I was too tired, father, I
could not have kept awake if I had had a gun at my head. But
I did not know it until — well, until it was too late. . . . Our
good colonel would save me if he could. He says, forgive him,
father, he only did his duty. And don't lay my death against
Jemmy. The poor boy is broken-hearted, and does nothing but
beg and entreat them to let him die in my stead. I can't bear to
think of mother and sister. Comfort them, father ! God help
j»*\ it is very hard to bear ! Good-by, father ! God seems near
HIS GREA T INTEREST IN SOLDIERS. 3^5
and dear to me ; not at all as if he wished me to perish forever,
but as if he felt sorry for his poor, sinful, broken-hearted child,
aid would take me to be with him and my Saviour, in a better,
better life ! God bless you all !
His sister, who had read much about the President's
tender heart, seized the letter, and quickly as steam
could carry her was in Washington, in the presence of
Mr. Lincoln.
"Well, my child, what do you want so bright and
early this morning ? " the President asked.
" My brother's life," she said, with much emotion.
"Who is he?"
She told him, and for what he was sentenced to be
shot.
" Oh, yes, that fatal sleep," responded Mr. Lincoln ;
"thousands of lives might have been lost by that
sleep." f
" So my father said ; but he was so tired carrying
Jemmy's baggage ;" and here she put his letter into
the President's hand, saying that "would tell him all
about it."
Mr. Lincoln read Benjamin's letter; when, with tear-
ful eye and melted heart, he quickly wrote an order for
his pardon, and, lest there might be some delay in the
conveyance of the message, he ordered his own car-
riage and delivered it personally to the proper authori-
ties. Before leaving his office, however, he said to the
sister:
" Go home, my child, and tell that father of yours,
who could approve his country's sentence, even when
it took the life of a child like that, that Abraham Lin-
coln thinks the life far too precious to be lost."
386 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
He ordered a furlough for the soldier-boy, also, that
he might return with his sister to Vermont ; and when,
subsequently, brother and sister came to the White
House, the President, in his private room, fastened a
badge of office upon his shoulder, saying, "the shoulder
that could carry a sick comrade's baggage, and die for
it so uncomplainingly, must wear that strap."
The father of a soldier applied to Congressman
Kellogg, of whom we have spoken, for the pardon of
his son, under sentence of death. Mr. Kellogg felt that
it was a case where executive clemency ought to be
exercised ; and he said to the distressed father, " you
wait here until I go and see what can be done."
He went directly to President Lincoln, and laid the
case before him. When he reached that part of
the narrative which related to a fearful charge
across a bridge, wherein the soldier displayed re-
markable heroism, Mr. Lincoln started up, and asked
earnestly : —
"Do you say that the young man was wounded?"
as if he were overjoyed to find a decent reason for
saving another life.
" Yes, badly wounded," added Mr. Kellogg.
"Then he has shed his blood for his country?" sug-
gested Mr. Lincoln.
" Yes, and shed it nobly," responded Mr. Kellogg.
" Kellogg ! " continued the President, brightening up,
" is there not something in the Bible about the shed-
ding of blood for the remission of sins?"
" I think you are right," replied Mr. Kellogg.
"Well, it is a good point, and there is no going be-
hind it," rejoined the President. And, taking up his
HIS GREA T INTEREST IN SOLDIERS. 3^7
pen, he wrote a pardon, which Mr. Kellogg bore to the
now glad father.
With all his leniency towards erring soldiers and his
passion for granting pardons, he had no patience with
rebel sympathizers in places of trust. When Alexander
Long, of Ohio, proposed, in the House of Representa-
tives, to recognize the Southern Confederacy, General
Garfield sprang to his feet, and denounced the " treason "
in words of bitter detestation, comparing the author of
the proposition to Benedict Arnold, who betrayed his
country in the hour of its peril, and entreating loyal
representatives not to believe that another such
"growth on the soil of Ohio deformed the face of
nature, and darkened the light of God's day." When
news of this speech reached the President, he ex-
pressed his approbation in the most unqualified man-
ner, and subsequently thanked General Garfield for
"flaying Long alive."
At one time the President called upon the head sur-
geon at City Point, and told him that he wanted to
visit all the hospitals there, and shake hands with
every soldier, as incidentally referred to on a former
page.
" Do you know what a job you have undertaken, Mr.
President ? " responded the surgeon.
"How many have you in the hospitals?" Mr. Lin-
coln asked.
" From five to six thousand," answered the surgeon ;
" and you will be exhausted long before you get through
all the wards."
Mr. Lincoln smiled as he continued, " I think I am
quite equal to the task. At any rate, I can try and go
388 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
as far as I can. I shall never see the boys again,
probably, and I want they should know how I ap-
preciate what they have done for the country."
The tour of the hospitals began, the surgeon leading
the way, and the President stopping at every cot, ex-
tending his hand, with words of greeting to one, sym-
pathy to another, and a kind inquiry of some — all
glad to take his hand. In his rounds, he approached
a cot on which lay a rebel soldier. Before the Presi-
dent had time to extend his hand the repentant soldier
extended his, bursting into tears, and saying, " Mr.
Lincoln, I have long wanted to see you, and ask your
forgiveness for ever raising my hand against the old
flag."
Mr. Lincoln wept, as he shook the penitent's hand
kindly, assuring him of prompt forgiveness. And this
recalls his remark to a public man who was complain-
ing of his Amnesty Proclamation. " When a man is
sincerely penitent for his misdeeds, and gives satisfac-
tory evidence of the same, he can safely be pardoned,
and there is no exception to the rule." The last clause,
which we have put in italics, expresses the true Gospel
idea of forgiveness better than most sermons of twenty
pages.
After the tour of the hospitals had been made, and
the President had seated himself in the surgeon's office,
word came that, "one of the wards was overlooked,
and the boys want to see the President."
"You are thoroughly tired, Mr. President, and so
am I," said the surgeon, " and you had better not go ; it
will make rlo difference."
" But I must go," Mr. Lincoln replied ; " I would
HIS GREA T INTEREST IN SOLDIERS. 389
not knowingly omit one, and the boys will be so dis-
appointed if they do not see me."
He went, and completed the hand-shaking for that
day, which consumed several hours, and returned per-
fectly satisfied, because he had carried joy and comfort
to the "brave boys " whom he loved as a father.
His letters and public documents abound in expres-
sions which show that the soldiers, officers and privates,
were borne upon his mind constantly. He was invited
to attend a large meeting in New York in honor of
General Grant. He closed his reply with these
words : —
" He and his brave soldiers are now in the midst of
their great trial ; and I trust that at your meeting
you will so shape your good words that they may turn
to men and guns moving to his and their support."
He closed his letter, accepting his second nomina-
tion, with the following : —
" I am especially gratified that the soldiers and sea-
men were not forgotten by the convention, as they
forever must and will be remembered by the grateful
country, for whose salvation they devote their lives."
If the people would but remember the soldier, they
might withhold some of their praise for himself !
News of the bloody slaughter of the "boys " always
filled the heart of the President with grief.
" Terrible ! terrible ! "
How often this expressive word dropped from his
lips ! Often he could neither eat nor sleep, his soul
was so wrought upon by bad news from the front.
When the tidings of defeat with very heavy loss, in
the Wilderness battles, reached him, he exclaimed : — '
390 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" My God ! my God ! Twenty thousand poor souls
sent to their account in one day ! I cannot bear it !
I cannot bear it ! "
One morning, Secretary Seward found him walking
his room with a most distressed appearance in his face,
when he inquired if the President was not well.
" This dreadful news from the boys has banished
sleep and appetite," he answered. "Not a moment's
sleep last night, nor a crumb of food this morning!"
It was the grief of a father over his fallen sons, —
sincere and tender as that of a mother.
At another time, the news of a heavy loss in a hard-
fought battle caused him to bury his face in his hands,
saying : —
" I shall never more be glad ! "
Dr. Holland says of Mr. Lincoln and the soldiers: —
" With the soldiers who were fighting the battles of
the country, he had the deepest sympathy. Whenever
he was congratulated upon a success, he never failed
to allude gratefully to the noble men who had won it.
The trials of these men, — their sacrifices of comfort
and health, of limb and life, — touched him with a
sympathy that really sapped the foundations of his
constitution. They were constantly in his thoughts ;
and not a battle was fought to whose sacrifices his own
vitality did not contribute. He admired the fighting
man, and looked upon him as, in one sense, his supe-
rior. Although he did not plead guilty to the weakness
of moral cowardice, he felt that the battle-field was a
fearful place, from which, unaided by its special in-
spirations, he should run. Indeed, Mr. Lincoln did
not give himself credit for the physical courage which
HIS GREA T INTEREST IN SOLDIERS. 39 l
he really possessed, though he had probably grown
timid with his failing strength.
" This sympathy with the soldiers he manifested in
many ways, and in none more than in the treatment
of their offences against military law. In a letter
to the author, a personal friend of the President
says : ' I called on him one day in the early part
of the war. He had just written a pardon for a
young man who had been sentenced to be shot, for
sleeping at his post as a sentinel He remarked as
he read it to me : —
" ' I could not think of going into eternity with the
blood of the poor young man on my skirts.' Then
he added : —
" ' It is not to be wondered at that a boy, raised on a
farm, probably in the habit of going to bed at dusk,
should, when required to watch, fall asleep ; and I can-
not consent to shoot him for such an act.'
" This story with its moral is made complete by
Rev. Newman Hall, of London, who, in a sermon
preached after and upon Mr. Lincoln's death, says
that the dead body of this youth was found among the
slain on the field of Fredericksburg, wearing next his
heart a photograph of his preserver, beneath which
the grateful fellow had written, ' God bless President
Lincoln ! ' From the same sermon another anecdote
is gleaned, of a similar character, which is evidently
authentic. An officer of the army, in conversation
with the preacher, said : f The first week of our com-
mand, there- were twenty-four deserters sentenced by
court-martial to be shot, and the warrants for their
execution were sent to the President to be signed
392 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
He refused. I went to Washington , and had an inter-
view. I said : " Mr. President, unless these men are
made an example of, the army itself is in danger.
Mercy to the few is cruelty to the many."
" ' Mr. General,' he replied, ' there are already too
many weeping widows in the United States. For
God's sake, don't ask me to add to the number, for I
won't do it.' "
As Dr. Holland intimates, President Lincoln was
deeply impressed by deeds of daring, and he never
lost sight of officer or private who distinguished him-
self in raid or battle. At a time when he was very
much depressed in consequence of defeats, instead of
victories, to the national arms, the news of successes
in the Department of the West was brought to him.
The battle of Chickamauga had been fought, and the
bravery and exploits of General Garfield were rehearsed
to him, such as his daring ride from General Rosecrans
to General Thomas, and bringing supplies up the Big
Sandy to his hungry soldiers.
"How is it," inquired Mr. Lincoln of an army
officer who was present at the time, " that Garfield did
in two weeks what would have taken one of your
regular officers two months to accomplish ? "
" Because he was not educated at West Point, as I
was," replied the officer, laughingly, thinking the
President designed to slur West Point graduates.
" No, that was not the reason," retorted Mr. Lincoln.
" It was because, when he was a boy, he had to work
for a living." ,
He made Garfield a major-general for his courage,
tact, and efficiency ; and when, a few months later,
HIS GREA T INTEREST IN SOLDIERS. 393
Ohio proposed to transfer him to Congress, and Gar-
field objected, the President said : —
" By all means, send him here. We need just such
a man of military experience and skill in Congress."
He was often moved by the tales of sacrifice on the
part of parents, wives, and sisters. He seemed to
enter really into the feelings of patriotic mothers and
wives, who cheerfully parted with their dear ones for
the sake of their country. He was told of a mother
in Boston who had lost five sons in battles, and he
immediately sat down and wrote the following letter
to her : —
"Executive Mansion, Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.
" Dear Madam : — I have been shown, in the files of the War
Department, a statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachu-
setts, that you are the mother of five sons, who have died gloriously
on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any
words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the
grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from
tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks
of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly
Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave
you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the
solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice
upon the altar of freedon.
" Yours very sincerely and respectfully,
"Abraham Lincoln.
" To Mrs. Bixby, Boston, Massachusetts."
His deep interest in the Union army caused him to
hail every organization in behalf of the sick and
wounded soldiers. The Sanitary Commission, the
Christian Commission, and all soldiers' aid societies,
won his heart. Any measure or enterprise that would
394 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
carry comfort to the " boys " commanded his undivided
support. In a speech at the close of a very successful
fair in Washington, for the benefit of soldiers, he
said : —
" In this extraordinary war, extraordinary developments have
manifested themselves, such as have not been seen in former
wars ; and among these manifestations nothing has been more
remarkable than these fairs for the relief of suffering soldiers
and their families. And the chief agents in these fairs are the
women of America. I am not accustomed to the use of the
language of eulogy ; I have never studied the art of paying
compliments to women ; but I must say that, if all that has been
said by orators and poets, since the creation of the world, in
praise of women were applied to the women of America, it would
not do them justice for their conduct during this war. I will
close by saying, God bless the women of America ! "
He was invited to preside at a meeting of the Chris-
tian Commission in Washington, but a pressure of
duties prevented even his attendance. He wrote,
however, to the chairman of the committee : —
"While, for reasons which I deem sufficient, I must decline to
preside, I cannot withhold my approval of the meeting, and its
worthy objects. Whatever shall be, sincerely and in God's name,
devised for the good of the soldiers and seamen in their hard
spheres of duty, can scarcely fail to be blessed. And whatever
shall turn our thoughts from the unreasoning and uncharitable
passions, prejudices, and jealousies incident to a great national
trouble such as ours, and to fix them on the vast and long-endur-
ing consequences, for weal or for woe, which are to result from
the trouble, and especially to strengthen our reliance on the
Supreme Being for the final triumph of the right, cannot but be
well for us all."
These earnest words voice not only his abiding
interest in the loyal army, but also his equally abiding
HIS GREA T INTEREST IN SOLDIERS. 395
confidence that God would give final victory to the
right.
For the purpose of emphasizing his sympathy with
the boys at the front, he attended soldiers' fairs in
Baltimore and Philadelphia. Three years before he
was obliged to pass through the former city in dis-
guise to escape assassination. In its streets the Mas-
sachusetts Sixth had met with a bloody reception, on
its way to protect Washington, and left some of its
heroic members dead. The city was then a hot-bed of
treason. But a great change had been wrought there,
and the chief attraction of the Soldiers' Fair was the
presence of Mr. Lincoln. Alluding to the remarkable
change that had been wrought he said, in his ad-
dress, —
" Calling to mind that we are in Baltimore, we
cannot fail to note that the world moves. Looking
upon the many people I see assembled here to serve
as they best may the soldiers of the Union, it occurs
to me that three years ago those *soldiers could not
pass through Baltimore. I would say, blessings upon
the men who have wrought these changes, and the
women who have assisted them ! "
In both these places, he spoke of the loyalty and
sufferings of the " boys " with fatherly tenderness, and
eulogized the women of the land for their self-denying
and philanthropic labors in their behalf.
The proceeds of the Fair at Philadelphia amounted
to one million three hundred thousand dollars, a result
over which, the President became enthusiastic. When
he was told that the fairs in eleven cities netted nearly
five million dollars he exclaimed : —
396 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" Was there ever such a country for patriotism and
liberality ? How much suffering will be prevented
among the brave boys ! "
When he was told that the Sanitary Commission,
within ten days after the terrible battle of Antietam,
sent 28,763 pieces of dry goods, shirts, towels, bed-
ticks, pillows, etc. ; 30 barrels of old linen, bandages,
and lint ; 3,188 pounds of farina; 2,620 pounds of con-
densed milk ; 5,000 pounds of beef-stock and canned
meats ; several tons of lemons and other fruit, crackers,
tea, sugar, rubber-cloth, tin-cups, and 4,000 sets of
hospital clothing ; all of which was tenderly distributed
among the wounded by the scores of volunteer agents
of the Christian Commission, language was not an
ample vehicle to convey his overflowing gratitude ; his
unbidden tears told how full of joy his heart was.
We have said that Mr. Lincoln was opposed to the
war-rule of retaliation ; but the suffering of our soldiers
in Libby Prison, at Andersonville, Belle Isle, and at
other points in the South, caused him to modify his
views, and declare for retaliation, at least, under cer-
tain circumstances.
The investigation of the Congressional Committee
on the "Conduct of the War," confirmed the most
harrowing reports from rebel prisons, over which Mr.
Lincoln's heart bled, and his indignation was aroused.
Speaker Colfax said of him, " I doubt if his most inti-
mate associate ever heard him utter bitter or vindic-
tive language. He seemed wholly free from malignity
or revenge, from ill-will or injustice." But the bar-
barous treatment of his "boys," who were prisoners in
Southern stockades, came very near upsetting his
HIS GREA T INTEREST IN SOLDIERS. 397
famous motto, " With malice towards none ; with
charity for all." He could endure censure and even
insult, and, " attacked ever so sharply, never answered
railing for railing," but his whole soul was stirred over
the treatment of Union soldiers by their captors.
The letter of Surgeon Chapel, who had charge of
the " West's Buildings Hospital," Baltimore, to which
many of our soldiers were sent, on returning from
Southern prisons, caused him to weep, as if the suf-
ferers were members of his own family. The letter
was addressed to the Chairman of the Congressional
Committee, and was as follows : —
" Dear Sir, — I have the honor to enclose the photograph
of John Breiring, with the desired information written upon it. I
am very sorry your committee could not have seen these cases
when first received. No one, from these pictures, can form a
true estimate of their condition then ; not one in ten was able to
stand alone ; some of them so covered and eaten by vermin that
they nearly resembled cases of small-pox, and so emaciated that
they were really living skeletons, and hardly that, as the result
shows, — forty out of one hundred and four having died up to this
date. If there has been anything so horrible, so fiendish, as this
wholesale starvation, in the history of this satanic Rebellion, I
have failed to note it. Better the massacres of Lawrence, Fort
Pillow, and Plymouth, than to be thus starved to death by inches,
through long and weary months."
Mr. Lincoln could not consent to the starvation of
rebel prisoners, nor to any approximation to cruel
treatment. Retaliation must take some other form, or
he would not endorse it. His real sympathy with sol-
diers, in their hardships and perils, extended even to
rebel prisoners in our hands. At Frederick, Md., he
visited a house in which there were a large number of
39§ PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
Confederate wounded men. After viewing the scene,
he said to them: —
" I should be pleased to take you all by the hand, if
you have no objections. The solemn obligations which
we owe to our country and posterity compel the
prosecution of this war. Many of you, no doubt,
occupy the attitude of enemies through uncontrollable
circumstances. I bear no malice toward you, and can
take you by the hand with sympathy and good feel-
ing."
There was hesitation at first, but it was soon broken,
and the Confederates stepped forward to shake the
President's hand. Some of the number were too badly
wounded to rise ; Mr. Lincoln approached them, and,
taking each one by the hand in turn, remarked, —
" Be of good cheer, boys, and the end will be well.
The best of care shall be taken of you."
It was a touching scene, and there were few dry
eyes present. Many of the Confederates wept. It was
evidently unexpected treatment to them. This was
the kind of retaliation in which President Lincoln
fully believed. It caused him unpleasantness and pain
to be compelled to depart from it. He heartily en-
joyed such a scene as was described to him after the
battle of Antietam.
One of the agents of the Christian Commission
found several wounded Confederate soldiers in a barn
yard, deserted by their surgeons, and no one near to
help them. They had been lying there with the
dead for three days, without food or drink. The agent
hurried food to them as soon as possible, and, with
others, was proceeding to wash them when one of the
HIS GREA T INTEREST IN SOLDIERS. 399
number, from whose feet he was pulling his dirty-
stockings, began to cry violently.
" What's the matter? Do I hurt you ?" inquired
the agent.
" No, you don't," sobbed the man.
" What, then, can be the matter ? Really, I can't go
on with my work unless you tell me what is the
matter."
" Matter enough," ejaculated the Confederate.
" You call us rebels, and I suppose we are ; for I
fought against the old flag ; but, when we are wounded,
you come to us here, not like angels, but like the
Lord Jesus Christ himself, washing our feet ; and I
can't stand it. I can't stand it."
Such treatment of enemies just suited Mr. Lincoln.
The rehearsal of that single incident made him happy
for a whole day.
In the light of such facts, W. H. Herndon, Esq.,
of Springfield, 111., was right in saying, —
"Through his perceptions, — -the suggestiveness of
nature, his originality, and strength ; through his
magnificent reason, his understanding, his conscience,
his tenderness, and kindness, his heart, rather than
love, — he approximated as nearly as most human
beings in this imperfect state to an embodiment of the
great moral principle, ' Do unto others as ye would
they should do unto you.' "
Thousands of the brave men who honored and
loved Abraham Lincoln sleep on Southern soil. They
went down to the graves of heroes from a thousand
battle-fields, through four long, bloody, dreadful years ;
and no heart throbbed with truer sympathy for them
400 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
in their sufferings than the heart of the President ;
and no eyes shed hotter tears for their loss than his.
And when the nation's offering was complete, and
there were no more human sacrifices to be laid upon
the altar of liberty on gory fields, and the country was
jubilant over the final victory and the return of peace,
the chieftain himself was added to the hecatomb of
loyal men, the tears and lamentations of a loving and
afflicted people consecrating the unparalleled sacrifice !
Well may the Grand Army of the Republic cherish
the memory of their heroic leader, whose thoughts
were ever with them on the field of conflict.- How
ring his beautiful words, " The mystic chords of memory,
stretching from every battle-field and patriot grave to
every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad
land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when
again touched, as surely they will be, by the better
angels of our nature ! "
CHAPTER XXVI.
HIS WORK FOR THE COLORED RACE.
IRESIDENT LINCOLN'S life in the White
House was distinguished by his work for
the colored race. So providential and im-
portant were his relations to both free and
enslaved negroes, that justice could not be done to him
or the subject without a separate exhibit of his work
for them. He was, not only "The Saviour of his
Country," but, also, "The Liberator of a Race."
While his great purpose was to save the Union, giv-
ing freedom to the slaves became absolutely necessary.
He expressed his views in the following clear, forcible
and characteristic way, after three years of war : —
" I am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing
is wrong. I cannot remember when I did not see, think and feel
that it was wrong, and yet I have never understood that the
Presidency conferred upon me an unrestricted right to act of-
ficially upon this judgment and feeling. ... I could not feel that,
to the best of my ability, I had tried to preserve the Constitution,
if, to preserve slavery or any minor matter, I should permit the
wreck of the government, country and Constitution altogether.
... I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly
that events have controlled me. Now, at the end of three years'
struggle, the nation's condition is not what either party or any
402 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
man devised or expected ; God alone can claim it. Whither it is
tending seems plain. If God now wills the removal of a great
wrong, and wills, also, that we of the North as well as you of the
South shall pay fairly for our complicity in that wrong, impartial
history will find therein new cause to attest and revere the justice
and goodness of God."
His memorable letter to Horace Greeley contained
the following passages, which will appear more and
more remarkable as the ages roll on : —
" If there be those who would not save the Union unless they
could at the same time save slavery, I do not agree with them.
If there be those who would not save the Union unless they
could at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with
them.
My paramount object is to save the Union, and not either to
save or destroy slavery.
If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do
it —if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it —
and if I could do it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I
would also do that.
What I do about slavery and the colored race, I do because it
helps to save the Union, and what I forbear, I forbear because I
do not believe it would help to save the Union.
' I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts
the cause, and I shall do more whenever I believe doing more
will help the cause.
I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors, and I
shall adopt new views as fast as they appear to be true views.
I have here stated my purpose according to my view of official
duty, and intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal
wish that all men everywhere could be free."
For independent thought, invincible purpose, clear-
ness of expression, model composition, and lofty senti-
ment, the foregoing was never excelled by American
statesmen.
HIS WORK FOR THE COLORED RACE. 403
With these principles and aims, Mr. Lincoln grap
pled with slavery — the real cause of the Rebellion —
and, finally, enlisted nearly two hundred thousand
negroes as soldiers in the Union army, and gave liberty
to every slave in the land.
Sojourner Truth was introduced^ to Mr. Lincoln as
having "come all the way from Michigan to see you."
"I am very much pleased to see you," responded
Mr. Lincoln, rising from his seat, and shaking the old
lady's hand cordially. "Take a seat."
"Mr. President," replied Sojourner, "when you first
took your seat I feared you would be torn to pieces,
for I likened you unto Daniel, who was thrown into
the lions' den ; and if the lions did not tear you in
pieces, I knew that it would be God that Had saved
you ; and I said if he spared me I would see you before
the four years expired, and He has done so, and now I
am here to see you for myself."
" I am truly glad that you have been spared to see
this day," answered Mr. Lincoln.
" I appreciate you, for you are the best President
who has ever taken his seat," added the old lady.
" I suppose you refer to the emancipation of your
race," responded the President.
For half an hour the conversation continued with as
much cordiality and politeness on the part of the Presi-
dent as he would have shown to the most refined white
woman in Washington.
At one time he learned that Frederick Douglas, the
distinguished ex-slave, was in Washington ; and he
sent his carriage to his boarding-place, with the mes
sage : " Come up and take tea with me."
404 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
Mr. Douglas accepted the invitation ; and, for the
first time in the history of our country, a colored
man became an invited guest in the Executive
Mansion. Mr. Douglas said of that interview, sub-
sequently : —
" Mr. Lincoln is one of the few white men I ever
passed an hour with, who failed to remind me in some
way, before the interview terminated, that I am a
negro."
The children of Concord, Mass., sent a memorial ta
him, praying for the freedom of all slave children. He
replied to it as follows : —
" Tell those little people I am very glad their young
hearts are so full of just and generous sympathy, and
that while I have not the power to grant all they ask,
I trust they will remember that God has ; and that, as
it seems, He wills to do it."
A citizen of Washington entered the President's
office one day, and found him counting greenbacks.
"This is something out of my usual line," Mr. Lin-
coln remarked ; " but a President of the United States
has a multitude of duties not specified in the Constitu-
tion or acts of Congress."
The gentleman responded courteously, hinting that
he would like to know what special duty was connected
with that pile of greenbacks.
"This money belongs to a poor negro, who is a
porter in the Treasury Department, at present very
sick with the small-pox. He is now in the hospital,
and could not draw his pay because he could not sign
his name. I have been to considerable trouble in
overcoming the difficulty, and getting it for him, and
HIS WORK FOR THE COLORED RACE. 405
cutting red tape, as you newspaper men say. I am
now dividing the money, and putting by a portion,
labelled, in an envelope, with my own hands, according
to his wish." Thus the kind-hearted man had turned
aside from grave official duties to assist and comfort
one of the humblest of God's creatures in his suffer-
ings and sorrow.
A delegation of colored men from Louisiana waited
upon the President to ask for some additional rights.
" I regret, gentlemen, that you are not able to
secure all your rights, and that circumstances will not
permit the government to confer them upon you. I
wish you would amend your petition so as to include
several suggestions which I think will give more effect
to your prayer, and, after having done so, please hand
it to me."
" If you will permit me," replied the chairman of
the delegation, " I will make the alterations here."
"Are you, then, the author of this eloquent pro-
duction ? " inquired Mr. Lincoln.
" Whether eloquent or not, it is my work," was the
modest reply ; and the negro took his seat by the
President's side, and made the alterations suggested.
A Southern gentleman present concluded that Mr.
Lincoln did not know that the delegation from Louisi-
ana were "black men."
The rebel government inflicted inhuman barbarities
upon Union colored soldiers at Port Hudson, Morris
Island, and other places. The knowledge of the
harrowing facts reaching the President, he immediately
issued the following proclamation for the protection of
colored soldiers : —
406 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
"Executive Mansion, July 30, 1863.
" It is the duty of every government to give protection to its
citizens, of whatever class, color, or condition, especially those
who are duly organized as soldiers in the public service. The
law of nations, and the usages and customs of war, as carried on
by civilized powers, permit no distinction as to color in the treat-
ment of prisoners of war as public enemies. To sell or enslave
any captured person on account of his color, and for no offence
against the laws of war, is a relapse into barbarism, and a crime
against the civilization of the age. The Government of the
United States will give the same protection to all its soldiers ;
and if the enemy shall sell or enslave any one because of his
color, the offence shall be punished by retaliation upon the
enemy's prisoners in our possession. It is, therefore, ordered,
that for every soldier of the United States killed in violation of
the laws of war, a rebel soldier shall be executed ; and for every
one enslaved by the enemy, or sold into slavery, a rebel soldier
shall be placed at hard labor on the public works, and continued
at such labor until the other shall be released and receive the
treatment due to a prisoner of war.
"Abraham Lincoln.
" By order of the Secretary of War.
"E. D. Townsend, Adjutant-General."
Here, again, is proof of Mr. Lincoln's genuine in-
terest in the soldiers. Retaliation was a war measure
from which he shrank ; his whole nature condemned
it. And yet he adopted it, in the circumstances, as a
dire necessity, to protect the soldier. In no case
would he consent to starve or torture rebel prisoners
by way of retaliation ; but he did consent to take life
for life.
President Lincoln often expressed his admiration of
the bravery and loyalty of colored soldiers, and once
he said to Judge J. T. Mills, of Wisconsin : —
" There have been men base enough to propose to
HIS WORK FOR THE COLORED RACE. 407
me to return to slavery the black warriors of Port
Hudson and Olustee, and thus win the respect of the
masters they fought. Should I do so, I should deserve
to be damned in time and eternity. Come what will,
I will keep my faith with friend and foe."
He was applied to for the pardon of a slave-dealer
sentenced to five years' imprisonment and a fine of a
thousand dollars. He had served the five years in
Newburyport prison, Massachusetts, and was now held
because he could not pay the fine. Parties interceded
for the prisoner, and bore from him a very touching
letter to the President. After having listened to the
slave-dealer's advocate, and read his piteous letter, Mr.
Lincoln said : —
" That is a very pathetic appeal to my feelings. You
know my weakness is to be, if possible, too easily moved
by appeals for mercy, and if this man were guilty of
the foulest murder that the arm of man could perpe-
trate, I might forgive him on such an appeal ; but the
man'who could go to Africa, and rob her of her children,
and sell them into interminable bondage, with no other
motive than that which is furnished by dollars and
cents, is so much worse than the most depraved mur-
derer, that he can never receive pardon at my hands.
No ! He may rot in jail before he shall have liberty by
any act of mine."
Before General Wadsworth was killed in the battle
of the Wilderness, he wrote to Mr. Lincoln and in-
quired, " if universal amnesty should not be accom-
panied with universal suffrage in the event of complete
success in the field."
Mr. Lincoln replied: "How to better the condition
408 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
_____ — s,
of the colored race has long been a study which has
attracted my serious and careful attention; hence I
think I am clear and decided as to what course I shall
pursue in the premises, regarding it a religious duty,
as the nation's guardian of these people who have so
heroically vindicated their manhood on the battle-field,
where, in assisting to save the life of the Republic,
they have demonstrated in blood their right to the
ballot, which is but the humane protection of the flag
they have so fearlessly defended."
The reverence of the colored people for President
Lincoln was always great, but its climax was reached
when the proclamation of emancipation was issued.
At one of his receptions, a large number of colored
people gathered about the Executive Mansion, and
waited two hours for the crowd of white visitors to pass.
At length, they timidly advanced to the reception-
room, as if doubting whether they would be welcome,
when Mr. Lincoln met them with one of his sweetest
smiles, and encouraged them to take his hand. Their
joy was unbounded, and they gave vent to their feel-
ings in the wildest manner. An eye-witness says,
^They laughed and wept, and wept and laughed, —
exclaiming through their blinding tears, 'God bless
you!' 'God bless Abraham Lincoln!' 'God bless
Massa Linkum ! ' "
Miss Canedy, of Fall River, Mass., was teaching the
colored people at Norfolk, Va., and in her school-room
was a plaster bust of Mr. Lincoln. One day she
showed it to some colored men who were at work
around the building, remarking about their benefactor*
Their exclamations were as follows : —
HIS WORK FOR THE COLORED RACE. 409
" He's brought us safe through the Red Sea."
" He looks as deep as the sea himself."
"He's king of the United States."
"He ought to be king of the world."
" We must all pray to the Lord to carry him safe
through, for it 'pears like he's got everything hitched
to him."
" There has been a right smart praying for him, and
it must n't stop now."
President Lincoln's entrance into Richmond, after
the rebel forces were driven out, was the signal for
great rejoicing among the colored people. He entered
the conquered city on foot, attended only by " Tad "
and the sailors who rowed him up the James river. So
quiet and unpretentious was his advent, that the ne-
groes were taken by surprise ; and, when they found
that the "Great Emancipator" was actually there, their
joy knew no bound. Some of them shouted; many of
them cried; all of them were frantic with delight.
"Glory to God!" "Glory!" "Glory!" "Glory!" was
the hearty tribute of the liberated slaves.
" I thank you, dear Jesus, that I behold President
Linkum," exclaimed a woman on the street, crying
like a child.
"Bless <ie Lord! Bless de Lord! Bless de Lord!"
exclaimed several, jumping up and down as if bereft of
their reason.
An eyewitness says, " An old negro cried out, ' May
de good Lord bless you, President Linkum ! ' while he
removed his hat, and the tears of joy rolled down his
cheeks. The President removed his own hat, and
bowed in silence ; but it was a bow which upset the
410 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
forms, laws, customs, and ceremonies of centuries. It
was a death shock to * chivalry/ and a mortal wound
to caste."
Colonel McKaye, Robert Dale Owen, and one or
two other gentlemen, were appointed by President
Lincoln to investigate the condition of the freedmen
on the coast of North Carolina. When they reported
to Mr. Lincoln, Colonel McKaye related the following
incident, as given by Mr. Carpenter : —
" He had been speaking of the ideas of power enter-
tained by these people. He said they had an idea of
God, as the Almighty, and they had realized in their
former condition the power of their masters. Up to
the time of the arrival among them of the Union forces,
they had no knowledge of any other power. Their
masters fled upon the approach of our soldiers, and
this gave the slaves a conception of a power greater
than that exercised by them. This power they called
'Massa Linkum.'
" Colonel McKaye said that their place of worship
was a large building which they called 'the praise
house ; ' and the leader of the meeting, a venerable
black man, was known as 'the praise man.' On a
certain day, when there was quite a large gathering of
people, considerable confusion was created by different
persons attempting to tell who and what * Massa Lin-
kum ' was. In the midst of the excitement the white-
headed leader commanded silence. ' Brederin,' -said
he, 'you don't know nosen' what you'se talkin' 'bout
Now, you just listen to me. Massa Linkum, he ebery'
whar. He know ebery ting.' Then, solemnly looking
up, he added, ' He walk de earj like de Lord!'
HIS WORK FOR THE COLORED RACE. 411
" Colonel McKaye told me that Mr. Lincoln seemed
much affected by this account. He did not smile, as
another man might have done, but got up from his
chair, and walked in silence two or three times across
the floor. As he resumed his seat, he said, very im-
pressively : ' It is a momentous thing to be the instru-
ment, under Providence, of the liberation of a race.' •
The colored people of Baltimore presented the
President with a very costly and beautiful copy of the
Bible. Three colored clergymen and two laymen were
the committee to present it. The address accompany-
ing the gift was tender and reverential, to which Presi-
dent Lincoln replied in a characteristic speech, in which
he said of the Bible : —
" It is the best gift which God has ever given to
man. All the good from the Saviour of the world is
communicated to us through this book. But for that
book we could not know right from wrong. All those
truths desirable for men are contained in it. I return
you my sincere thanks for the very elegant copy of the
great Book of God which you present."
The Bible bore the following inscription : —
" To Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, the
friend of Universal Freedom. From the loyal colored people of
Baltimore, as a token of respect and gratitude. Baltimore, July
4th, 1864."
A colored woman of Philadelphia presented him with
a collection of wax-fruits, with an ornamented stem-
table — an elegant affair. Her pastor, Mr. Hamilton,
made the presentation address, but closed by saying,
" perhaps Mrs. Johnson would like to say a few words."
412 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
What Mrs. Johnson did is best told in her own words:
" I looked down to the floor, and felt that I had not a
word to say, but after a moment or two, the fire began
to burn (laying her hand on her breast), and it burned
and burned ti'l it went all over me. I think it was the
Spirit, and I looked up to him and said : ' Mr. Presi-
dent, I believe God has hewn you out of a rock, for
this great and mighty purpose. Many have been led
away by bribes of gold, of silver, of presents ; but you
have stood firm, because God was with you, and if you
are faithful to the end, he will be with you.* With his
eyes full of tears, he walked round and examined the
present, pronounced it beautiful, thanked me kindly,
but said: 'You must not give me the praise — it be-
longs to God.' "
Some public men desired Mr. Lincoln to issue his
Proclamation of Emancipation long before he did.
Delegations waited upon him to express their wishes in
that direction. To a delegation of clergymen from Chi-
cago, who urged the measure upon him, he replied : —
" I do not want to issue a document that the whole
world will see must necessarily be inoperative, like the
Pope's bull against the comet."
After some discussion, however, he assured them
that "the subject was upon his mind night and day,
more than any other; " and he added, " Whatever shall
appear to be God's will, I will do."
He called a special Cabinet meeting two or three
weeks before the battle of Antietam, and announced
to the members : —
"I have prepared a proclamation of emancipation,
believing that the time has come to issue it. I have
HIS WORK FOR THE COLORED RACE. 4*5
not called you together for advice on the general sub-
ject, for I have settled that, I simply desire to inform
you of my purpose, and receive such suggestions as
you may make."
The members were somewhat surprised, but ex-
pressed a strong desire to hear it read. The President
proceeded to read it in a slow, clear voice, evidently
impressed with the grave responsibility he was taking
upon himself. When he had finished reading the
document, and opened the way for suggestions, Secre-
tary Chase remarked :
" I would like to have the language stronger with
reference to arming the blacks."
"I think it is bad policy to issue it now," said the
Attorney General. "It will cost the administration
the fall elections." It was then about the first of Sep-
tember, 1862.
"All these questions I have carefully considered,
gentlemen," was Mr. Lincoln's response.
Secretary Seward remarked, at this point : —
"Mr. President, I approve of the proclamation, but
I question the expediency of its issue at this juncture.
The depression of the public mind consequent upon
our repeated reverses is so great that I fear the effect
of so important, a step. It may be viewed as the last
measure of an exhausted government — a cry for help
— the government stretching forth its hand to Ethio-
pia, instead of Ethiopia stretching forth its hand to
the government — our last shriek on the retreat. I
think it would be best to delay it until it can be given
to the country supported by military success, rather
than after the greatest disasters of the war."
41 4 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
"That is a thought that has not occurred to me,"
immediately replied the President, " I shall adopt the
suggestion at once, and await a signal victory."
Before the discussion ceased, however, Secretary
Seward made another suggestion : —
" Mr. President, I think that you should insert, after
the word 'recognize,' the words 'and maintain.'"
" I have fully considered the import of that expres-
sion," answered Mr. Lincoln; "but it is not my way
to promise more than I am sure I can perform, and I
am not prepared to say that I can 'maintain \ this."
" Nevertheless that ground should be taken," con-
tinued the Secretary. "The dignity of the government
and the completeness of the proclamation require it."
After a moment of serious thoughtfulness, the Presi-
dent responded, " You are right, Seward, and the words
shall go in."
The proclamation was laid aside until the battle of
Antietam was fought. Mr. Lincoln waited until he
was satisfied that a valuable victory had been achieved,
when he called the Cabinet together again, at a special
meeting, and announced: —
"The time has come for emancipation to be declared ;
it cannot longer be delayed. Public sentiment will now
sustain it, many of my warmest friends and supporters
demand it, and I promised my God I would do it"
The last sentence was not quite understood by Sec-
retary Chase, who asked for an explanation. Mr.
Lincoln replied: —
" / made a solemn vow before God, that if General
Lee was driven back from Pennsylvania, I would crown
the result by the declaration of freedom to the slave"
HIS WORK FOR THE COLORED RACE. 4*5
The Cabinet unanimously endorsed the President's
decision, and the proclamation was issued September
22, 1862, promising, "That on the first day of January,
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred
and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any
State, or any designated part of a State, the people
whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United
States, shall be then, thenceforward and forever, free ;
and the executive government of the United States,
including the military and naval authority thereof, will
recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons,
and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or
any of them, in any efforts they may make for their
actual freedom."
This proclamation offended many anti-slavery friends
at the North, who Wanted the President to strike an
immediate and fatal blow at the institution, without
warning or conditions. It is believed, however, that sub-
sequent events caused them, and the civilized world, to
concur in the President's judgment of the best method,
in the circumstances. At the South, the excitement
over the proclamation of promised freedom was intense,
and the Rebel Congress enacted some violent threats.
But the one hundred days of grace passed by, and the
memorable first day of January, 1863, arrived, bringing
the Proclamation of Emancipation, which deserves
the highest place in the temple of American liberty.
It merits the careful perusal of every citizen of the
United States, old and young, and commends itself to
the friends of humanity in every land.
President Lincoln signed the Proclamation after his
public reception on January first, 1863. Mr. Colfax
remarked to him, —
41 6 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE,
"The signature appears somewhat tremulous and
uneven."
" Not because of any uncertainty or hesitation on
my part," answered the President; "but it was just
after the public reception, and three hours' hand-
shaking is not calculated to improve a man's chi-
rography. The South had fair warning, that if they
did not return to their duty, I should strike- at this pillar
of their strength. The promise must now be kept,
and I shall never recall one word."
Mr. Carpenter's noble conception of a painting to
commemorate the act of Emancipation enlisted the
President's deepest interest. When the work was
nearly completed, the artist remarked to him, —
" I am very proud to have been the artist to have
first conceived the idea of the design of painting a
picture commemorative of the Act of Emancipation."
"Yes," answered the President, "as affairs have
turned, it is the central act of my administration, and
the great event of the nineteenth century."
When Mr. Carpenter's work was done, and he was
about to take leave of the White House, the President
said, —
" Well, Mr. Carpenter, I must go with you and take
one more look at the picture before you leave us."
The parting interview with the artist before the
picture was very interesting ; and President Lincoln
closed it in his familiar way, by saying : —
" Mr. Carpenter, I believe that I am about as glad
over the success of this work as you are."
This chapter would be incomplete without the
Proclamation of Emancipation, which must ever be a
HIS WORK FOR THE COLORED RACE. 4l7
memorable document in the future history of our
country. We furnish it complete : —
" Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a pro-
clamation was issued by the President of the United States, con-
taining, among other things, the following, to wit :
" That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves
within any State, or designated part of a State, the people whereof
shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be
then, thenceforth and forever free, and the Executive Govern-
ment of the United States, including the military and naval
authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of
such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons,
or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual
freedom.
" That the Executive will, on the first day of January afore-
said, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States,
if any, in which the people therein respectively shall then be in
rebellion against the United States, and the fact that any State,
or the people thereof, shall on that day be in good faith repre-
sented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen
thereto, at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters
of such States shall have participated, shall, in the absence of
strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence
that such State or the people thereof are not then in rebellion
against the United States."
" Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United
States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-
chief of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of ac-
tual armed rebellion against the authority and Government of the
United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for sup-
pressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three,
and in accordance with my purpose so to do, publicly proclaimed
for the full period of one hundred days from the day of the first
above-mentioned order, designate, as the States and parts of
41 8 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
States wherein the people thereof respectively are this day in re-
bellion against the United States, the following, to wit : Arkansas,
Texas, Louisiana, except the parishes of St. Bernard, Plaque-
mines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, Ascension,
Assumption, Terre Bonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin and
Orleans, including the City of New Orleans, Mississippi, Ala-
bama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and
Virginia, except the forty-eight counties designated as West Vir-
ginia, and also the counties of Berkeley, Accomac, Northampton,
Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the
cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth, and which excepted parts are,
for the present, left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued.
" And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I
do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said
designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward
shall be free ; and that the Executive Government of the United
States, including the Military and Naval authorities thereof, will
recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons.
"And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free,
to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defence, and
I recommend to them that in all cases, when allowed, they labor
faithfully for reasonable wages.
" And I further declare and make known that such persons of
suitable condition will be received into the armed service of the
United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other
places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service.
"And upon this, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, war-
ranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the
considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Al-
mighty God.
" In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and caused
the seal of the United States to be affixed.
" Done at the City of Washington, this first day of
January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
\ ' S'-l hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of
the United States of America the eighty-seventh."
" By the President : " Abraham Lincoln
"William H. Seward, Secretary of State"
HIS WORK FOR THE COLORED RACE. 419
Speaker Colfax said of Mr. Lincoln and his procla-
mation, when the great man died : —
" The great act of the mighty chieftain, on which his
fame shall rest long after his frame shall moulder away,
is that of giving freedom to a race. We have all been
taught to revere the sacred characters. Among them
Moses stands pre-eminently high. He received the law
from God, and his name is honored among the hosts of
heaven. Was not his greatest act the delivering three
millions of his kindred out of bondage ? Yet we may
assert that Abraham Lincoln, by his proclamation,
liberated more enslaved people than ever Moses set
free, and those not of his kindred or his race. Such a
power, or such an opportunity, God has seldom given
to man. When other events shall have been forgot-
ten ; when this world shall have become a network of
republics ; when every throne shall be swept from the
face of the earth ; when literature shall enlighten all
minds ; when the claims of humanity shall be recog-
nized everywhere, this act shall be conspicuous on the
pages of history. We are thankful that God gave to
Abraham Lincoln wisdom and grace to issue that
proclamation, which stands high above all other papers
which have been penned by uninspired men."
CHAPTER XXVII.
STILL IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
|R. LINCOLN was renominated for a second
term in the summer of 1864. There were
not wanting leaders who opposed his re-
nomination. He was too slow and too kind
to suit them. But their opposition was short-lived.
When the National Convention assembled in Balti-
more, the current of enthusiasm for Mr. Lincoln swept
away all opposition. Intelligence from the army proved
that one feeling pervaded the rank and file, — the
" boys " demanded the renomination of " Father Abra-
ham." The colonel of a regiment on the Potomac, in
which were many Democrats, reported a conversation
among his men, as follows : —
"Who are you for, Joe?" inquired one of a Demo-
crat.
" Father Abraham, of course ; a new man would up-
set things," was the reply.
" Who knows but a new man might hurry up the
end of this Rebellion !" interjected another.
"But we know who we have now for President," re-
sponded the Democrat ; "but when you have a new man
you must wait to find out."
STILL IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 42 1
"That's so," loudly answered a comrade * "no time
for an armistice now."
" Soldiers think too much of Lincoln to swap him off
now for somebody else," remarked another.
And so the discussion proceeded, until a German,
who had remained a silent listener, spoke :
" I goes for Fader Abraham," he said. " Fader Abra-
ham, he likes the soldier-boy. Ven he serves tree
years he gives him four hundred dollar, and re-enlists
him von veteran. Now Fader Abraham, he serve four
years. We re-enlist him four years more, and make
von veteran of him."
The German settled the question in that regiment ;
and it was about a fair representation of the feeling
throughout the Union army.
In the convention, the votes of every State except
Missouri were cast for Mr. Lincoln. Her twenty-two
votes were cast for General Grant, but, immediately
upon the announcement of the ballot, they were trans-
ferred to Mr. Lincoln.
In less than two months after his renomination, the
President resolved to issue a call for five hundred
thousand more troops. On laying the subject before
his Cabinet, objections were provoked at once.
" It will prove disastrous," said one.
" It will defeat your re-election, Mr. President," sug-
gested another.
" It will furnish material for your enemies to use
against you ; the people are tired of the war," added
the first-named speaker.
For quite a while the measure was discussed ; and
the President listened with his accustomed deference,
422 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
occasionally dropping a word. At length, however, he
settled the matter beyond controversy. Rising from
his seat, and assuming that commanding attitude so
usual when he was about to make a noble stand, he
remarked, with profound seriousness, as well as em-
phasis : —
"Gentlemen, it is not necessary that I should be
re-elected, but it is necessary that our brave boys at
the front should be supported, and the country saved.
I shall call for five hundred thousand more men, and
if I go down under the measure, I will go down like
the ' Cumberland' with my colors flying."
God crowned his , noble decision with success. He
did not go down like the " Cumberland" or any other
riddled gunboat. Opposition hid itself before the on-
ward march of his popularity. He was re-elected by
the largest majority ever known in presidential elec-
tions. His popular majority was 411,428, in a total
vote of 4,015,902; and he had 212 of the 233 votes in
the electoral college. On being publicly congratulated
upon this emphatic endorsement, President Lincoln
said : —
" I am thankful to God for this approval of the peo-
ple. But, while deeply grateful for this mark of their
confidence in me, if I know my heart, my gratitude is
free from any taint of personal triumph. I do not im-
pugn the motives of any one opposed to me. It is no
pleasure to me to triumph over any one ; but I give
thanks to the Almighty for this evidence of the peo-
ple's resolution to stand by free government, and the
rights of humanity."
The re-election of President Lincoln was equal to
STILL IN THE WHITE HOVSE. 423
the addition of five hundred thousand more soldiers to
the Union army. It destroyed the last hope of the
Rebellion. It was staggering when the day of the
election arrived ; and from that time its fall was rapidly
accelerated.
On the fourth day of March, 1865, his second inaugur-
ation as President of the United States occurred. A
great concourse of people witnessed the imposing cere-
monies, and listened to his remarkable inaugural ad-
dress. According to the national custom, Mr. Lincoln
kissed the open Bible, after having taken the oath of
office. Mr. Middleton, who passed the Bible to him,
instantly marked the verses touched by the President's
lips. They were the 26th and 27th verses of the
Fifth chapter of Isaiah, and read as follows : —
"And he will lift up an ensign to the nations, and will hiss
unto them from the end of the earth ; and, behold, they shall
come with speed swiftly ; none shall be weary nor stumble among
them ; none shall slumber nor sleep ; neither shall the girdle of
their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken."
The speedy overthrow of the Rebellion furnished a
remarkable interpretation of these words ; and they
are choice words of prophecy to be forever associated
with President Lincoln's memory.
His inaugural address on that occasion has been de-
clared to be the most remarkable State paper extant.
It has often been classed with the " Farewell Ail-
dress" of Washington ; as it proved, indeed, the fare-
well address of Lincoln to the American people. And
as Washington's life would be incomplete without the
former, so Lincoln's life would lack an essential fact
424 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
without the latter. The address was brief, direct, and
affecting, as follows : —
Fellow-Countrymen, — At this second appearing to take the
oath of the presidential office, there is less occasion for an ex-
tended address than there was at first. Then, a statement, some-
what in detail, of a course to be pursued, seemed fitting and proper.
Now, at the expiration of four years, during which public declara
tions have been constantly called forth on every point and phase
of the great contest which still absorbs the attention and engrosses
the energies of the nation, little that is new could be presented.
The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is
as well known to the public as to myself; and it is, I trust, reason-
ably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope for the
future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.
On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago, all
thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All
dreaded it — all sought to avert it. While the inaugural address
was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving
the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking
to destroy it without war — seeking to dissolve the Union and
divide effects by negotiation. Both parties deprecated war ; but
one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive ;
and the other would accept war rather than let it perish. And
the war came.
One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not
distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the southern
part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful
interest. All knew that this interest was, somehow, the cause of
the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was
the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union, even
by war ; while the government claimed no right to do more than
to restrict the territorial enlargement of it. Neither party ex-
pected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has
already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause, of the con-
flict might cease with, or even before, the conflict itself should
cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less
fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible and
STILL IN THE WHITE HOUSE, 425
pray to the same God ; and each invokes his aid against the
other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a
just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of
other men's faces ; but let us judge not, that we be not judged.
The prayers of both could not be answered — that of neither has
been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes.
" Woe unto the world because of offences ! for it must needs be
that offences come ; but woe to that man by whom the offence
cometh." If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of
those offences which, in the Providence of God, must needs come,
but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now
wills to remove, and that he gives to both North and South this
terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offence came,
shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attri-
butes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him ?
Fondly do we hope — fervently do we pray — that this mighty
scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it
continue until all the wealth piled by the bondman's two hundred
and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop
of blood drawn by the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the
sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said,
" The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."
With malice toward none ; with charity for all ; with firmness
in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive to finish
the work we are engaged in ; to bind up the nation's wounds ; to
care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow
and his orphan — to do all which may achieve and cherish a just
and lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations.
Charles Sumner said of this address : " The Inaugu-
ral Address which signalized his entry for a second
time upon his great duties was briefer than any similar
address in our history ; but it has already gone farther,
and will live longer, than any other. It was a continu-
ation of the Gettysburg speech, with the same sublimity
and gentleness. Its concluding words were like an
angelic benediction."
426 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
The subject of Civil Service Reform, which provokes
so much discussion at the present time, engaged th<?
attention of Mr. Lincoln at the time he entered upon
the second term of his presidential career. He re-
marked to Senator Clark of New Hampshire : —
" Can't you and others start a public sentiment in
favor of making no changes in offices except for good
and sufficient cause?"
" It would be an excellent measure," answered the
senator. " You would remove or appoint no one for
party considerations alone ? "
" Exactly. It seems as though the bare thought of
going through again what I did the first year here,
would crush me."
" I am not surprised to hear that remark," continued
Mr. Clark. " Nine-tenths of your callers are office-
seekers, or persons without any important business."
" Besides, it is all wrong to remove public servants
who deserve to be retained, for the sake of promoting
politicians who have done well for their party." Then,
referring to applicants for office, he added, " It seems as
if every visitor darted at me, and, with thumb and
finger, carried off a portion of my vitality."
The senator laughed over this figure of a " carcass,"
carried off by birds of prey ; and the President went
on: —
" I have made up my mind to make very few changes
in the offices in my gift for my second term. I think
now that I will not remove a single man, except for
delinquency. To remove a man is very easy, but when
I go to fill his place, there are twenty applicants, and
of these I must make nineteen enemies."
STILL IN THE WHITE HOUSE. AV
Senator Clark endorsed these sentiments as belong-
ing to true statesmanship, and hoped that the President
would be able to reduce his theory to practice. The
latter closed the interview with the following rather
sharp remark : —
" Sitting here, where all the avenues to public patron-
age seem to come together in a knot, it does seem to
me that our people are fast approaching the point where
it can be said that seven-eighths of them are trying to
find how to live at the expense of the other eighth."
Three weeks after Mr. Lincoln entered upon his
second term of office, he went to City Point, partly to
recruit his wasted energies, and partly to be near the
base of military operations now hastening to a crisis.
The "boys in blue" greeted him with an enthusiasm
that showed their strong love for the man.
A grand review had been arranged for the twenty-
fifth of March, in honor of the President ; but General
Lee attacked and captured Fort Stedman, on that
morning, requiring a hard-fought battle, instead of a
review, to drive out his forces — a feat that was
triumphantly accomplished within a few hours. Presi-
dent Lincoln visited the field of carnage soon after the
battle, and, on hearing regrets expressed that the grand
review did not occur, he said, —
"This victory is better than any review."
Immediately a council of war was held at City Point,
attended by the President and Generals Grant, Sher-
man, Sheridan, Meade, and Ord; and it was followed
by those three memorable days of battle, Friday, Satur-
day, and Sunday, sealing the doom of Richmond.
Mr. Lincoln remained at City Point, receiving dis-
428 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
patches from the front and forwarding them to Wash-
ington. His first dispatch to the Secretary of Wat
on Saturday was, —
" Hard righting this morning, and our forces repulsed."
A few hours later, he telegraphed, —
" The ground lost has been retaken."
On Sunday morning his dispatch was, —
" The triumphant success of our armies, after two days of hard
fighting, during which the forces on both sides displayed unsur-
passed valor."
In the afternoon he telegraphed, —
" General Grant has taken twelve thousand prisoners and fifty
pieces of artillery."
On Monday morning he telegraphed, —
" Richmond has fallen ! "
Later, his dispatch to Secretary Stanton read, —
" I am about to enter Richmond ! "
The Secretary immediately telegraphed back, • —
" Do not peril your life in that way ! "
The next morning he returned the following : —
" I received your dispatch yesterday ; went to Richmond, and
returned this morning."
This was not reckless daring on his part, but his
philosophical way of viewing the danger, as we shall
learn more particularly in the next chapter.
On Monday, President Lincoln entered the fallen
city without parade. Usually, conquerors have taken
possession of captured cities and fallen thrones with
STILL IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 429
the proudest display of exultation, bearing along with
them the trophies of war. But true to himself, Mr.
Lincoln found it more congenial to his heart to enter
the subdued rebel capital without even fife or drum.
Unheralded by brilliant cavalcade, he threaded his way
as a common man through the streets to the head-
quarters of Jefferson Davis, who had become a volun-
tary fugitive. And though he took possession of the
traitor-city without ostentation or military parade,
history records his entrance as a triumphal march,
and patriot fathers tell the story of it to their children
in honor of Lincoln's greatness.
President Lincoln remained in Richmond until
Tuesday morning, occupying the house so uncere-
moniously vacated by the arch-traitor of the Rebel-
lion. The loyal people trembled for his safety when
they heard he was there. Many pronounced his going
to Richmond " a foolhardy act." All deprecated his
unnecessary exposure of life, as they regarded it, and
were greatly relieved when the telegraph informed
them that he was back again in Washington.
Speaker Colfax expostulated with him upon his
seeming disregard of danger, to which the President
replied : — .
" I should have been alarmed myself if any other
person had been President and gone there ; but I did
not feel in any danger whatever."
Before reaching Washington, on his return, he
read aloud twice from his copy of Shakespeare the
words which Macbeth uttered about the murdered
Duncan, calling the special attention of his friends to
them : —
43° PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" Duncan is in his grave ;
After life's fitful fever, he sleeps well ;
Treason has done his worst ; nor steel, nor poison,
Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing,
Can touch him further."
The friends who listened to his remarks upon this
striking passage could but recall the singular circum-
stances, after his assassination.
The fall of Richmond was celebrated throughout the
North and West by bonfires, illuminations, speeches,
music, ringing of bells, and general rejoicing. Every-
where Mr. Lincoln was remembered and eulogized for
his wisdom, patriotism and achievements.
Just one week from the time the news of the fall of
Richmond was flashed over the land, the tidings of
Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court-house followed,
magnifying the general joy tenfold, if possible. The
war was ended, and Constitutional Liberty maintained.
Over the western portico of the Capitol at Washing-
ton was inscribed, with a beautiful banner waving
over it : —
"This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in
OUR EYES."
Over the door of the State Department was the fol-
lowing : —
"The Union saved by faith in the Constitu-
tion, faith in the People, and trust in God."
The day of jubilee had come — " the greatest day,"
said one, "since the Resurrection."
The welcome news of " Peace " spread over the land
with the rapidity of light, and flashed under the ocean
to foreign countries, where glad millions joined in fes-
STILL IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 43 1
tivities over the end of the conflict and the triumph
of freedom. As when Cornwallis surrendered, and the
War of Independence was over, the people became
wild with joy ; so the news — Lee has surrendered
— awaked almost frantic demonstrations of delight.
All modes of expressing exultation were inadequate,
and yet all were employed. Sextons rushed to the
churches to ring the bells ; gunners added the peal of
cannon ; acquaintances met in the streets and em-
braced each other ; some wept, others laughed, all
were jubilant. Never before were so many bells rung
together, so many cannon fired, so many shouts of
victory raised, so many bands of music waked, so
many banners waved, and so many bonfires and illu-
minations kindled, to celebrate the return of peace and
the nation saved.
The praise of Lincoln was on every lip, and has con-
tinued to be from that day to the present time. The
nation delights to honor his memory, and one of the re-
cent acts of the National Government is a tribute to his
memory by a generous increase of his widow's pension.
Mr. Lincoln had accomplished the purpose of his
administration — he had crushed the Rebellion
AND SAVED THE UNION.
Charles Sumner said of President Lincoln's adminis-
tration : " The corner-stone of National Independence
is already in its place, and on it is inscribed the name of
George Washington. There is another stone which
must have its place at the corner also. This is the
Declaration of Independence, with all its promises ful-
filled, On this stone we will gratefully inscribe the
name of Abraham Lincoln.
432 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" Each was at the head of the Republic during a
period of surpassing trial ; and each thought only of
the public good, simply, purely, constantly, so that
single-hearted devotion to country will always find a
synonym in their names. Each was the national chief
during a time of successful war. Each was the repre-
sentative of his country at a great epoch of history.
" The part which Lincoln was called upon to per-
form resembled in character the part which was per-
formed by Washington. The work left undone by
Washington was continued by Lincoln. Kindred in
service, kindred in patriotism, each was naturally sur-
rounded at death by kindred homage."
CHAPTER XXVIII
SHOT OF THE ASSASSIN.
ROM the time of Mr. Lincoln's nomination
for the Presidency, as we have seen, fears
of his assassination prevailed among his
friends. The President himself had reason
to believe that he was in danger of being shot, for he
had a package of threatening letters, which he had ap-
propriately labelled, " Assassination Letters," and laid
away. His attention was often called to the subject
by anxious friends. On being remonstrated with for
unnecessarily exposing himself, he replied, without
denying his danger: —
" Soon after I was nominated at Chicago, I began
to receive letters threatening my life. The first one
or two made me a little uncomfortable, but I came at
length to look for a regular instalment of this kind of
correspondence in every week's mail, and up to In-
auguration Day I was in constant receipt of such letters.
It is no uncommon thing to receive them now ; but
they have ceased to give me apprehension."
Surprise was expressed that he could be indifferent
to a peril that his friends considered imminent, and he
answered : —
434 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" Oh, there is nothing like getting used to things ! "
A cavalry guard was once placed at the gates of
the White House, but was removed at his request.
"I worried until I got rid of it," he said to a friend.
He once remarked to Colonel Halpine, "It will
never do for a President to have guards with drawn
sabres at his door, as if he fancied he were, or were
trying to be, or were assuming to be, an emperor."
Once he went to General Halleck's private quarters
and protested against a detachment of cavalry, de-
tailed, without his request, by General Wadsworth, to
guard his carriage going to and from the Soldiers'
Home. He remarked, facetiously, yet earnestly: —
"Why, Mrs. Lincoln and I cannot hear ourselves
talk for the clatter of their sabres and spurs ; and some
of them appear to be new hands and very awkward, so
that I am more afraid of being shot by the accidental
discharge of a carbine or revolver, than of any attempt
upon my life by a roving squad of Stewart's cavalry."
Very much in the same vein he replied to Colonel
Halpine, who was trying to show him his exposure
even in the White House, saying : —
"There are two dangers, the danger of deliberate
political assassination, and the mere brute violence of
insanity."
The President replied, as related by Mr. Carpenter:
" Now as to political assassination, do you think
the Richmond people would like to have Hannibal
Hamlin here any better than myself? In that one
alternative, I have an insurance on my life worth half
the prairie land of Illinois. And beside," — this more
gravely, — "if there were such a plot, and they wanted
SHOT OF THE ASSASSIN. 435
to get at me, no vigilance could keep them out. We
are so mixed up in our affairs, that — no matter what
the system established — a conspiracy to assassinate,
if such there were, could easily obtain a pass to see
me for any one or more of its instruments.
"To betray fear of this, by placing guards or so
forth, would only be to put the idea into their heads,
and perhaps, lead to the very result it was intended to
prevent. As to the crazy folks, Major, why I must
only take my chances, — the most crazy people at
present, I fear, being some of my own too zealous ad-
herents. That there may be such dangers as you and
many others have suggested to me, is quite possible;
but I guess it would n't improve things any to publish
that we were afraid of them in advance."
At one time, there was undoubted proof of a rebel
plot to abduct Mr. Lincoln, or kill him in the attempt,
as there was at one time to capture or kill George
Washington ; and when the facts were laid before him,
he replied : —
"Well, even if true, I do not see what the rebels
would gain by either killing or getting possession of
me. I am but a single individual, and it would not
help their cause, or make the least difference in the
progress of the war."
On the morning of April 14, 1865, the President's
son, Capt. Robert T. Lincoln, returned from the army,
and spent an hour in giving his father a detailed ac-
count of Lee's surrender. At the same time, also, he
received a letter from General Owen Allen, of New
York, entreating him not to expose his life again, as
he did by going to Richmond, to which he replied:—^
436 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
"I intend to adopt the advice of my friends, and use
due precaution."
The 14th of April was a holiday for the loyal people ;
for it was the anniversary of the evacuation of Fort
Sumter, just four years before ; and the day had been
set apart for the restoration of the old flag to its former
place over the fort. The ceremony, with speeches,
music, cannon, and other demonstrations of joy, at
Charleston, S. C, was witnessed by a great concourse
of loyal men from every part of the land.
A special programme for the evening of that day was
announced at Ford's Theatre, and President Lincoln,
General Grant, and other public men in the city were
invited; and it was announced in the public journals
that these dignitaries would be present.
Mr. Ashmun and Mr. Colfax were with him when his
carriage was driven to the gate. The latter gentleman
was to leave in the morning for California. Mr. Ash-
mun had important business to lay before the Presi-
dent ; and, before entering his carriage, the latter wrote
upon a card : —
" Allow Mr. Ashmun and friend to come in at nine A. m. to-
morrow.
"A. Lincoln."
These were the last words he wrote. Passing out
to his carriage, he said to Mr. Colfax : —
"Do not forget to tell the people of the mining
regions what I told you this morning about the de-
velopment when peace comes."
After being seated in his carriage, and the horses
started, he added, " I will telegraph you, Colfax, at
San Francisco."
SHOT OF THE ASSASSIN. 437
It was twenty minutes to nine o'clock when he
entered the theatre, accompanied by Mrs. Lincoln,
Miss Harris and Major Rathbone. General Grant had
been called to Philadelphia.
The vast audience rose to their feet, and made such
a demonstration in honor of their chief, as was possible
only by those who appreciated the end of the war and
the reign of peace.
An hour afterwards, the crack of a pistol startled the
audience, although, at first, many thought it was a part
of the entertainment. A shriek from Mrs. Lincoln,
and the leap of the assassin from the President's private
box to the stage, however, assured them that a real
tragedy had been enacted. The murderer exclaimed,
as he leaped to the stage : —
"Sic semper tyrannis!" [Thus let it ever be with
tyrants.] Then brandishing a gleaming dagger he
added, "The South is avenged," and escaped.
For a moment the audience was paralyzed, scarcely
realizing the tragic situation.
" John Wilkes Booth ! " shouted a man in the
audience.
"Shoot him!" "Shoot him!" "Hang him!"
screamed a hundred men, awaking to the fact that it
was the shot of an assassin which startled them.
Women screamed and fainted ; men gesticulated
and threatened ; everybody was filled with consterna-
tion and dismay ; hundreds wept in fright and horror.
The scene beggared description. From the highest
peak of joy, the audience was plunged in a moment
down to unutterable sorrow. To add to the terrible
fear and apprehension the tidings were brought, as the
43§ PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
excited assembly were issuing from the building, that
Secretary Seward and Vice-President Johnson were
assassinated, also. At once, hundreds caught up the
idea, that the oft-repeated rebel threats to assassinate
the members of the Cabinet and take forcible possession
of the Government, were being executed. All sorts of
rumors of violence and blood spread through the
city, creating the apprehension that republican insti-
tutions were dissolving into anarchy, and that horrid
butchery would destroy what treason had failed to
overthrow.
The reports proved to be true, as far as Secretary
Seward was concerned. One of the conspirators,
Lewis Payne, an infamous character, had entered the
secretary's chamber and stabbed him three times in
bed. Mr. Seward was helpless at the time, from the
effects of ^ .serious injury ; and, but for the courage and
great strength, of his attendant, the assassin would
have killed him on the spot. Mr. Seward's son was
present, and was badly wounded, with four others, by
the villain, before he escaped from the house.
The unconscious form of the President was borne
across the street to the house of Mr. Peterson, where
the best medical and surgical talent of the city came
to his relief. It was soon manifest that the good and
great man was beyond the skill of physicians. He was
shot through the back of the head, the ball entering
on the left side behind the ear, passing through the
brain, and lodging just behind the right eye.
By midnight all the members of the Cabinet stood
around the couch of the dying President, together with
Mrs. Dixon, for whom Mrs. Lincoln had sent, Miss
SHOT OF THE ASSASSIN. . 439
Harris, Major Rathbone, Captain Robert Lincoln, and
his almost distracted mother, with other friends. At
the announcement of Surgeon-General Barnes, that
there was "not a ray of hope," Secretary Stanton burst
into tears, saying, —
" Oh, no ! General, no, no ! "
Senator Sumner stood holding one of the President's
hands, sobbing as if parting with his father. Mrs.
Lincoln walked to and fro from room to room, wringing
her hands in despair, exclaiming, —
" How can it be so ? Why did he not shoot me
instead of my husband ? "
Again and again she would leave the room, but soon
return, wringing her hands in agony, reiterating, —
" Why is it so ? I must go with him ! "
Captain Robert Lincoln bore himself with great
firmness, comforting his mother in the most affection-
ate manner, and entreating her to look to God for
support. Occasionally, unable to control his feelings,
he retired to the hall, and gave vent to his deep sorrow
for a moment, and then returned with renewed strength,
to assuage the grief of his mother.
Such a night of woe and anguish was never known
before in Washington. The weary hours dragged
heavily because of their weight of sorrow. The mur-
dered one lay unconscious of his sufferings and the
grief of friends around his bed, through all the dis-
mal night. Before eight o'clock in the morning,
Secretary Stanton sent the following telegram over
the land : —
"Abraham Lincoln died this morning at twenty-two
minutes after seven o'clock."
440 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
But we must return to the assassin. He was
known to some persons who saw him and heard
his voice, after the fatal shot — John Wilkes Booth
— a worthless, dissipated fellow, in full sympathy with
the rebel cause. Immediate efforts were put forth
by the authorities to capture him and his fellow-con-
spirators. It was soon ascertained that Booth had
been busy laying his plans during the previous day,
and that several accomplices were engaged with him.
There was unmistakable evidence that other members
of the Cabinet were singled out for assassination, and
that General Grant would have been a victim had he
remained in the city. A letter was found in Booth's
trunk which showed that the assassination was planned
for March 4 — the day of Mr. Lincoln's inaugura-
tion, and that it failed because the accomplices refused
to proceed " until Richmond could be heard from."
Colonel Baker, with his picked men, pursued Booth
to the farm-house of one Garrett, in Lower Maryland,
in whose barn he was found, with Herold, one of his
accomplices. Herold gave himself up, but Booth re-
fused to surrender, whereupon the barn was set on
fire, and he was shot by Boston Corbett, in his at-
tempt to escape. Lewis Payne, who made the attempt
upon the life of Secretary Seward, George A. Atzerodt,
to whom was assigned the murder of Vice-President
Johnson, Michael O'Laughlin, Edward Spangler, who
aided Booth at the theatre, Samuel Arnold, Mary E.
Surratt, and Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, were the conspirators
arrested and tried by a military commission. Herold,
Atzerodt, Payne, and Mrs. Surratt were sentenced to be
hanged, and were executed on the seventh day of July,
SHOT OF THE ASSASSIN. 441
We stop here to record a fact about the assassin
that has never been published. A retired sea-captain
of New Bedford, Mass., remarked, when he read that
J. Wilkes Booth had murdered President Lincoln :
"I am not at all surprised ; just what I should
expect ! "
" WThy do you say that ? " inquired a listener.
"I will tell you," replied the captain; "when J.
Wilkes Booth was about ten years old,* I was running
a vessel from Liverpool to New Orleans, and I brought
J. Wilkes, with his father and family, from the former
to the latter place. That boy, John Wilkes, was the
most ungovernable and impudent fellow of his age I
ever met with. Like most boys who go to ruin, he
was disrespectful and saucy to his mother. She could
do nothing with him. One day she was correcting
him for his usual impudence to her, when Mr. Booth,
her husband, made his appearance. Observing what
his wife was about, he cried out at the top of his voice,
' What ! treating that boy so? He never will make a
man if you treat him so.' " The captain added : " I
am not surprised that such a boy should become an
assassin."
Before his assassination, President Lincoln was
often likened to William of Orange, whose subjects
called him " Father William," as we were wont to call
our beloved President " Father Abraham." But when
treason had done its worst, and our Lincoln was
assassinated, as William of Orange was assassinated,
the comparison with that " purest and best-loved ruler
of his times" became a remarkable and affecting
coincidence.
442 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
By midnight, April 14, the tidings of President Lin-
coln's assassination began to flash over the wires.
Long before sunrise the large cities and towns of the
country, having night telegraphic connection with
Washington, were startled by the terrible news. Gov-
ernors, mayors and other officials, were called from
their beds to receive the dreadful announcement." By
the time men and women went to the business of the
morning the sad news met them everywhere ; and
speedily followed Mr. Stanton's telegram announcing
the President's death.
Never was there such sorrow in the Republic
before. The people had been rejoicing over the close
of the war for several days, and the praise of President
Lincoln, for his wise and successful administration,
was on every lip. The heights of national joy had
been reached ; and now to plunge therefrom into the
lowest depths of sorrow, was a fearful change. The
popular heart sunk under the burden of grief. Strong
men wept as they went about the streets. Great men
buried their faces in their hands and cried as if a mem-
ber of their own families had been stricken down.
The marts of trade were turned to houses of mourning.
The transaction of business ceased. Neither rich nor
poor had any heart to traffic or labor. Neighbor ac-
costed neighbor — " terrible ! terrible ! " and burst into
tears. The sorrow was universal. Both old and
young felt its oppressive weight.
A few weary, sad hours passed, and people began to
gather in halls and churches to carry their case to the
Lord. There was no help in man for such a trial.
When stalwart men bear about so great a sorrow, that
SHOT OF THE ASSASSIN. 443
they meet only to speak in tears, the only relief is
found at the throne of grace. And so men left their
business and women their homes to gather round a
common altar ; rich and poor, learned and unlearned,
meeting together before the Most High. There were
hundreds and thousands of such assemblies on the
afternoon of that sorrowful Saturday, April 15, 1865.
Words of comfort, prayers, and tears, brought some
relief to the mourning people.
The next day was the holy Sabbath ; and such a
Sabbath ! Already the symbols of grief had appeared
on churches and public buildings, stores and dwelling
houses. As if by a general impulse, the people every-
where began on Saturday to drape their homes and
places of business with the habiliments of sorrow.
The markets were exhausted of every fabric that could
be used to express the sadness of human hearts.
Houses of worship were crowded on Sunday with
honest mourners. In pulpits heavily draped with
crape, preachers discoursed upon the great sorrow,
and led their sorrowful congregations to the Lord.
The day will never be forgotten by the multitude who
mingled their common grief.
In some localities the grief expressed itself in the
form of vengeance. It assumed that form early on
Saturday morning in the city of New York. Armed
men gathered in the streets threatening speedy death
to disloyal citizens. Their numbers rapidly increased,
until fifty thousand assembled in Wall street Exchange,
bearing aloft a portable gallows, and swearing sum-
mary vengeance upon the first rebel sympathizer who
dared to speak. One thoughtless fellow remarked
444 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
that " Lincoln ought to have been shot long ago";
and he was struck dead instantly. The grieved and
vengeful crowd seethed towards the office of the
World, a disloyal paper, with mutterings of violence
on their lips. It seemed scarcely possible to prevent
violent demonstration. A bloody scene appeared to be
imminent. At that critical moment a portly man, of
commanding physique and voice, appeared upon the
balcony of the City Hall, from which telegrams were
read to the people, and raising his right hand to in-
voke silence, he exclaimed, in clear and sonorous
tones : —
" Fellow-citizens : Clouds and darkness are round
about Him ! His pavilion is dark waters and thick
clouds of the skies ! Justice and judgment are the
habitation of His throne ! Mercy and truth shall go
before his face ! Fellow-citizens : God reigns, and the
government at Washington still lives ! "
The effect of this serious address was magical. The
raging populace subsided into repose. A hushed
silence pervaded the vast assembly, when the voice of
the speaker ceased, as if they had listened to a mes-
senger from the skies. The change was marvellous.
The speaker was General James A. Garfield, who
became President sixteen years afterwards, and was
shot by an assassin four months later ! How strange
that the inhabitants of that metropolis, who listened
to the gifted statesman so gladly, April 14th, 1865,
should be shocked by the news of his assassination on
July 2d, 1 88 1 !
No class of citizens were more sincere mourners for
the illustrious dead than the colored race. They went
SHOT OF THE ASSASSIN. 445
about the streets of Washington wringing their hands
and weeping as Rachel did for her children. They
gathered in groups on the streets and bewailed their
loss in pitiful lamentations. Many of them appeared
to be inconsolable. More sincere and profound sor-
row never bowed human hearts.
A correspondent of the New York Tribune, writing
from Charleston, S. C, said : —
" I never saw such sad faces or heard such heavy
heart-beatings as here in Charleston the day the
dreadful news came ! The colored people — the na-
tive loyalists — were like children bereaved of an old
and loved parent. I saw one old woman going up the
street wringing her hands and saying aloud as she
walked, looking straight before her, so absorbed in her
grief that she noticed no one : * O Lord ! O Lord ! O
Lord ! Massa Sam's dead ! Massa Sam's dead ! '
" ' Who's dead, Aunty ? ' I asked her.
" ' Massa Sam,' she said, not looking at me, renew-
ing her lamentations.
" < O Lord ! O Lord ! O Lord ! Massa Sam's dead ! '
" ' Who is Massa Sam ? ' I asked again.
" ' Uncle Sam,' she said.
"'0 Lord! Lord! Lord!" she continued.
" I was not quite sure that she meant the President,
and I spoke again : —
«' Who's Massa Sam, Aunty?'
" ' Mr. Lincum ! ' she said, and resumed wringing her
hands and moaning in utter hopelessness of sorrow.
The poor creature was too ignorant to comprehend any
difference between the very unreal Uncle Sam and the
actual President ; but her heart told her that he whom
44-6 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
Heaven had sent in answer to her prayers was lying in
a bloody grave, and she and her race were left — father-
less."
A friend of the writer was in a city of North Carolina
when the news of the assassination reached the colored
people there. In their profound grief they followed
their leader to their humble place of worship, filling it
to overflowing. Our friend went thither, and found
the whole congregation upon their knees, giving vent
to their feelings in convulsive sobs and piteous moans.
Even their patriarchal leader was too full for utterance ;
and, on his knees, he was crying with his afflicted peo-
ple. At length, an old woman, bowed with age and
trembling with emotion, rose to express her grief in
words. Clasping her dusky hands together, and lifting
her streaming eyes heavenward, she exclaimed: —
"Bress de Lord! bress de Lord! Dey hab killed
Massa Linkum, but dey can't kill God!"
" Amen ! " " Amen ! " " Amen ! " was the response
from every part of the house, showing, not only the
greatness of their bereavement, but, also, their glad-
ness that God was left. From that moment their
tongues were loosed, and they found relief in the in-
spiring thought, "they can't kill God."
The Atlantic Cable flashed the terrible news across
the sea, "President Lincoln Assassinated," start-
ling foreign governments, and eliciting expressions of
profound sympathy.
Queen Victoria instructed Earl Russell to convey
her unfeigned sorrow to the government of the United
States, and, at the same time, with her own hand,
she addressed a letter of touching condolence to Mrs,
Lincoln.
SHOT OF THE ASSASSIN. 447
The London "Spectator" declared that all England
wept for "the noblest President whom America has
had since the time of Washington ; certainly the best,
if not the ablest, man ruling over any country in the
civilized world."
The Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon, the Em-
peror of France, addressed a letter of true sympathy to
Mrs. Lincoln ; and the French government seconded
the address of the Emperor to the United States, ex-
pressing the deepest sorrow over our national bereave-
ment.
The governments of Russia, Italy, Prussia, Belgium,
Turkey, Austria and Switzerland, were equally demon-
strative in their expressions of grief and condolence.
Hon. George Bancroft, the historian, said, " The
echoes of his funeral knell vibrate through the world,
and the friends of freedom of every tongue and in every
clime are the mourners."
Speaker Colfax said, —
" Of this noble-hearted man, so full of genial impulses, so self-
forgetful, so utterly unselfish, so pure and gentle and good, who
lived for us and at last died for us, I feel how inadequate I am to
portray his manifold excellence — his intellectual worth — his
generous character — his fervid patriotism. Pope celebrated the
memory of Robert Harley, the Lord of Oxford, a privy counsellor
of Queen Anne, who himself narrowly escaped assassination, in
lines that seem prophetic of Mr. Lincoln's virtues : —
' A soul supreme in each hard instance tried ;
Above all pain, all anger, and all pride,
The rage of power, the blast of public breath,
The lust of lucre, and the dread of death.'
44$ PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
" Murdered, coffined, buried, he will live with those few im-
mortal names who were not born to die ; live as the Father of the
Faithful in the time that tried men's souls ; live in the grateful
hearts of the dark-browed race he lifted from under the heel of the
oppressor to the dignity of freedom and manhood ; live in every
bereaved circle which has given father, husband, son, or friend to
die, as he did, for his country ; live with the glorious company of
martyrs to liberty, justice, and humanity, that trio of Heaven-born
principles ; live in the love of all beneath the circuit of the sun,
who loathe tyranny, slavery, and wrong. And, leaving behind him
a record that shows how honesty and principle lifted him, self-
made as he was, from the humblest ranks of the people to the
noblest station on the globe, and a name that shall brighten under
the eye of posterity as the ages roll by —
'From the top of Fame's ladder he stepped to the sky.'"
CHAPTER XXIX.
FUNERAL CEREMONIES.
MM EDI ATE preparations were made for
the obsequies. The dead body of the Presi-
dent was removed to the White House,
where it was embalmed and placed in a
costly casket resting upon an elaborate catafalque.
On Monday, a meeting of Congressmen, with other
notable persons in Washington, was held in the
Capitol, when Charles Sumner of Massachusetts
was appointed Chairman of a Committee to arrange
for the funeral ceremonies. At four o'clock in the
afternoon this Committee reported Wednesday for
the time of the funeral, and the names of six Sen-
ators and six Representatives for pall-bearers, and
one gentleman from each State and Territory as a
National Committee to attend the remains to Spring-
field, Illinois.
On Tuesday morning the White House was thrown
open to the tens of thousands anxious to behold once
more the face of their beloved ruler. All day, until
far into the evening, a steady stream of visitors, of all
ages and classes, passed into the presence of the dead.
Thousands were unable to gain admittance to the Ex-
450 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
ecutive Mansion during the day, on account of the
multitude, and they turned away in disappointment.
When the hour of the funeral arrived on Wednesday,
the city, with all its public buildings, was elaborately
draped in black. The symbols of mourning were of
the most varied and expensive character. Decorative
art was taxed to its utmost to express the sentiment
of grief that pervaded the city. A public man, looking
at the sable drapery, remarked : —
" As it should be. The nation would have it so. It
tells the real sorrow of the people."
The funeral services were conducted in the East
Room, where the family and relatives of the President,
with many distinguished men, were seated. Mrs.
Lincoln was too much prostrated to attend the funeral
service. Many governors, senators, judges, repre-
sentatives, and other men of note, were present from
different parts of the Union. Governors Fenton of
New York, Andrew of Massachusetts, Brough of Ohio,
Parker of New Jersey, Oglesby of Illinois, and Buck-
ingham of Connecticut, were there. The ceremonies
were simple and touching, very appropriate for the
truly Republican statesman for whom the nation
mourned. Rev. Dr. Gurley paid a just and eloquent
tribute to the dead. He said : —
" Probably no man since the days of Washington was ever so
deeply and firmly embedded and enshrined in the hearts of the
people as Abraham Lincoln. Nor was it a mistaken confidence
and love. He deserved it ; deserved it well ; deserved it all. He
merited it by his character, by his acts, and by the tenor and
tone and spirit of his life. . . He rose to the dignity and
momentousness of the occasion ; saw his duty as the magistrate
of a great and imperilled people, and he determined to do his
FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 45 I
duty and his whole duty, seeking the guidance and leaning upon
the arm of Him of whom it is written — ' He giveth power to the
faint, and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
. . . Never shall I forget the emphasis and the deep emotion
with which he said, in this very room, to a company of clergymen
and others, who called to pay him their respects in the darkest
days of our civil conflict : ' Gentlemen, my hope of success in
the great and terrible struggle rests on that immovable foundation,
the justice and goodness of God. And when events are very
threatening, and prospects very dark, I still hope that, in some
way which man cannot see, all will be well in the end, because
our cause is just, and God is on our side.' Such was his sublime
and holy faith ; and it was an anchor to his soul both sure and
steadfast. It made him firm and strong It emboldened him
in the pathway of duty, however rugged and perilous it might be.
It made him valiant for the right, for the cause of God and hu-
manity, and it held him steady and unswerving to a policy of
administration which he thought, and which all now think, both
God and man required him to adopt."
At the close of the services in the presidential man-
sion, the body was conveyed to the Capitol, followed by
a larger and more imposing procession than had ever
been seen in Washington. The grand avenue leading
from the White House to the Capitol was one dense
mass of human beings, and all the neighboring streets
of the city were thronged with tearful spectators. As
the hearse, which was drawn by eight gray horses,
heavily draped in black, approached the Capitol grounds,
several bands joined in a mournful requiem, answered
by minute guns from the fortifications. The casket
was deposited in the rotunda, resting upon a grand
catafalque, when Dr. Gurley conducted further cere-
monies suited to the place and the occasion. Then
the doors were thrown open, that the remains might be
452 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
view.ed by the tens of thousands who had failed to gain
access to the Executive Mansion. From that time, all
through the night, and far into the next day, a tide of
people flowed in and out of the rotunda, to view the
face of the President whom they had honored and
loved. Of the pageant of that day, Dr. Holland says :
" In many of its aspects, it was never paralleled upon
this continent. Nothing like it — nothing approaching
it — had ever occurred in this country, if, indeed, in the
world."
The same day was set apart, throughout the land, for
funeral ceremonies, in honor of the deceased President.
In hundreds and thousands of towns and cities, churches
and public halls were thrown open, and the clergy and
other professional gentlemen as well as laymen, ad-
dressed the assembled multitudes, and led them to the
throne of grace.
The funeral train left Washington on the morning
of April 21. Along with the casket of the President,
was borne that of Willie — father and son united in
death in the journey homeward, as they were united in
life, four -years before, on their journey thitherward.
The train was elaborately draped, from the locomotive
to the last car.
At Baltimore, where conspirators sought the Presi-
dent's life, four years before, on his journey to Wash-
ington, thus obliging him to pass through the city by
night, a vast concourse of people assembled to pay
their tribute of respect to the dead. The city was
almost as profusely draped as Washington itself ; and
when the casket was opened to the public, for a brief
time, as honest tears were shed by the multitude
FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 453
about his remains as were wept in any other part of
the land.
The inhabitants of every village through which the
funeral train passed, gathered at the depots, and, with
uncovered heads, watched it as it swept by, while the
tolling of bells, and sometimes the solemn dirge by a
band, together with sable draperies on buildings and
flags, added pathos to their grief.
At York, six ladies entered the funeral car, bearing
an immense floral tribute, which they laid upon the
coffin so tenderly, and with so much emotion, that all
witnesses were moved to tears.
The funeral cortege reached Philadelphia on Saturday
evening, and the remains were conveyed to Independ-
ence Hall, followed by a procession of one hundred
thousand people, while from three to four hundred
thousand more were spectators. In the solemn shadows
of night, moving to the measure of funereal music, the
departed President was laid in the historic hall, which
was one mass of flags, drapery, and flowers. Few failed
to recall the prophetic words of the dead man, uttered
within that hall four years before, when he was on his way
to Washington to assume the duties of President : —
" All the political sentiments I entertain have been drawn, so
far as I have been able to draw them, from the sentiments which
originated, and were given to the world from this hall. I have
never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the senti-
ments embodied in the Declaration of Independence." . . .
" Now, my friends, can this country be saved on this basis ? If it
can, I shall consider myself one of the happiest men in the world
if I can help to save it. If it cannot be saved upon that principle,
it will be truly awful. But if this country cannot be saved without
giving up that principle, I was about to say / would rather be
assassinated on the spot"
454 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
After the addition of a few more words, he added :
" I have said nothing but what I am willing to live by
and, if it be the pleasure of Almighty God, to die by."
How wonderful his words in view of the appalling
fact, that the enemies of the Declaration of Independ-
ence finally took his life !
From Saturday night until Monday morning, the
face of the murdered President was viewed by three
hundred thousand people — an eager, orderly, mourning
procession, moving in and out of Independence Hall,
night and day, to pay their sincere tribute of respect to
the dead.
In the city of New York more than one hundred
thousand people were in the procession, twenty thou-
sand of whom were soldiers. One hundred bands of
music played during the march. Nearly a millon
people witnessed the pageant. Public services were
held in Union Square, where Hon. George Bancroft
delivered the eulogy, and Dr. J. P. Thompson read the
President's last inaugural address. The following beau-
tiful ode by the poet Bryant was read by Dr. Osgood :—
" Oh, slow to smite and swift to spare,
Gentle, and merciful, and just !
Who in the fear of God didst bear
The sword of power — a nation's trust.
In sorrow by thy bier we stand,
Amid the awe that hushes all,
And speak the anguish of a land
That shook with horror at thy fall.
Thy task is done — the bond are free ;
We bear thee to an honored grave,
Whose noblest monument shall be
The broken fetters of the slave.
FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 455
Pure was thy life ; its bloody close
Hath placed thee with the sons of light,
Among the noble host of those
Who perished in the cause of right."
Of the ceremonies in New York, Morris said : " The
funeral ceremonies of the first Napoleon, in the streets
of Paris, when his remains were transferred from St.
Helena to the Invalides by Louis Philippe, were re-
garded as the greatest pageant the world had ever
known, but the pageant in New York far exceeded it."
At Albany the scene was no less imposing. The
city was shrouded with crape, and beautiful sentiments
appeared here and there : —
"The great heart of the nation throbs heavily at the portals of
the grave."
" All joy is darkened ; the mirth of the land is gone."
" And the mourners go about the streets."
" And the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all
the people."
" The Martyr to Liberty."
" Though dead, he yet speaketh."
"Washington, the Father of his country ; Lincoln, the Saviour
of his country."
At Dunkirk, upon a tastefully draped platform was
" a group of thirty-six young ladies, representing the
States of the Union. They were dressed in white,
each with a broad black scarf resting on the shoulder,
and holding in her hand a national flag."
At Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, one hundred
and eighty persons a minute saw the remains, " two
rows of spectators were constantly passing, one on
each side of the coffin." Flowers wrought into every
conceivable device, to express affection and respect for
45 6 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
the dead, literally covered the coffin and platform —
harps, wreaths, bouquets, crosses, anchors, and
crowns.
At Piqua ten thousand people assembled at mid-
night, with uncovered heads, as distinctly seen under
the blaze of torches and bonfires as under the light of
mid-day, and thirty-six ladies in white, with black
sashes, upon a draped platform, sang a plaintive tune
amidst a hushed silence that was oppressive. As they
closed, a band followed with a touching dirge. The
effect of these ceremonies at midnight baffles descrip-
tion.
The body of the President lay in state at Indianapolis
over the Sabbath of April 30, and was viewed by over
one hundred thousand people, among whom were five
thousand Sabbath-school scholars who came in a body
with flowers to scatter upon the bier.
At Chicago, the preparations for funeral ceremonies
were too elaborate to be described. Thirty-six young
ladies in white, with black sashes, bareheaded and with
a black velvet wreath over the brows, a star in front,
their arms full of flowers — immortelles and garlands —
met the procession before it reached the court-house,
and laid their floral tributes upon the funeral car. As
the coffin was deposited in the spacious hall, a hundred
singers, overhead and invisible, sang a funeral dirge
with melting effect. Speaker Colfax delivered an
eloquent eulogy. Some of the mottoes displayed were :
" The altar of Freedom has borne no nobler sacrifice."
" Illinois clasps to her bosom her slain, but glorified son."
" He was sustained by our prayers, and returned embalmed b^
our tears."
FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 457
During the two days the remains reposed in Chicago,
five hundred thousand mourners paid their tributes of
respect to their lamented fellow-citizen and neighbor.
But at his home, in Springfield, among his former
intimate friends and townsmen, the most touching
scenes occurred. Many sobbed aloud as they looked
upon his familiar face in death. Old men and women,
young men and maidens, mourned as for a brother and
father. From the country around, for fifty miles and
more, people came wearing badges of mourning — so
many thousands that the town could scarcely contain
them. And when the body was conveyed to the Oak
Ridge Cemetery, where Bishop Simpson delivered a
funeral oration, acres of ground were one vast " sea of
upturned faces." In just two weeks from the time the
funeral cortege left Washington, upon its march of six-
teen hundred miles, the remains were deposited in the
grave, over which a grateful country has reared a costly
monument.
Conspicuous among the mottoes displayed in the
town, were these two : —
" Sooner than surrender this principle, I would be assassinated
on the spot."
" Washington, the Father of his country ; Lincoln, the Sav-
iour."
The closing paragraph of Bishop Simpson's eloquent
eulogy shall close our story of him who worked his way
from his pioneer home to the White House: —
" Chieftain ! farewell ! The nation mourns thee. Mothers
shall teach thy name to their lisping children. The youth of our
land shall emulate thy virtues. Statesmen shall study thy record
and learn lessons of wisdom. Mute though thy lips be, yet they
458 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
still speak. Hushed is thy voice, but its echoes of liberty are
ringing through the world, and the sons of bondage listen with
joy. Prisoned thou art in death, and yet thou art marching
abroad, and chains and manacles are bursting at thy touch. Thou
didst fall not for thyself. The assassin had no hate for thee. Our
hearts were aimed at, our national life was sought. We crown
thee as our martyr— and humanity enthrones thee as her triumph-
ant son Hero, martyr, friend, farewell ! *
CHAPTER XXX.
ORATION BY HON. GEORGE BANCROFT.
UR grief and horror at the crime which has
clothed the continent in mourning, find no
adequate expression in words, and no relief
in tears. The President of the United
States of America has fallen by the hands of an
assassin. Neither the office by which he was invested
by the approved choice of a mighty people, nor the
most simple-hearted kindliness of nature, could save
him from the fiendish passions of relentless fanaticism.
The wailings of the millions attend his remains as
they are borne in solemn procession over our great
rivers, along the seaside, beyond the mountains, across
the prairie, to their resting-place in the valley of the
Mississippi. His funeral knell vibrates through the
world, and the friends of freedom of every tongue and
in every clime are his mourners.
Too few days have passed away since Abraham Lin-
coln stood in the flush of vigorous manhood, to permit
any attempt at an analysis of his character, or an ex-
position of his career. We find it hard to believe that
his large eyes, which in their softness and beauty
expressed nothing but benevolence and gentleness, are
460 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
closed in death ; we almost look for the pleasant smile
that brought out more vividly the earnest cast of his
features, which were serious even to sadness. A few
years ago he was a village attorney, engaged in the
support of a rising family, unknown to fame, scarcely
named beyond his neighborhood ; his administration
made him the most conspicuous man in his country,
and drew on hirn first the astonished gaze, and then
the respect and admiration of the world.
Those who come after us will decide how much of
the wonderful results of his public career is due to his
own good common sense, his shrewd sagacity, readiness
of wit, quick interpretation of the public mind, his rare
combination of fixedness and pliancy, his steady ten-
dency of purpose ; how much to the American people,
who, as he walked with them side by side, inspired him
with their own wisdom and energy ; and how much to
the overruling laws of the moral world, by which the
selfishness of evil is made to defeat itself. But after
every allowance, it will remain that members of the
government which preceded his administration opened
the gates to treason, and he closed them ; that when
he went to Washington the ground on which he trod
shook under his feet, and he left the republic on a
solid foundation ; that traitors had seized public forts
and arsenals, and he recovered them for the United
States, to whom they belonged ; that the capital,
which he found the abode of slaves, is now the home
only of the free ; that the boundless public domain
which was grasped at, and, in a great measure, held for
the diffusion of slavery, is now irrevocably devoted to
freedom ; that men then talked a jargon of a balance
ORATION BY GEORGE BANCROFT. 46 1
of power in a republic between slave States and free
States, and now the foolish words are blown away for-
ever by the breath of Maryland, Missouri, and Ten-
nessee ; that a terrible cloud of political heresy rose
from the abyss, threatening to hide the light of the
sun, and under its darkness a rebellion was growing
into indefinable proportions ; now the atmosphere is
purer than ever before, and the insurrection is vanish-
ing away ; the country is cast into another mould, and
the gigantic system of wrong, which had been the
work of more than two centuries, is dashed down, we
hope forever. And as to himself, personally: he was
then scoffed at by the proud as unfit for his station,
and now, against usage of later years, and in spite of
numerous competitors, he was the unbiassed and the
undoubted choice of the American people for a second
term of sendee. Through all the mad business of
treason he retained the sweetness of a most placable
disposition ; and the slaughter of myriads of the best
on the battle-field, and the more terrible destruction of
our men in captivity, by the slow torture of exposure
and starvation, had never been able to provoke him
into harboring one vengeful feeling, or one purpose of
cruelty.
How shall the nation most completely show its sorrow
at Mr. Lincoln's death ? How shall it best honor
his memory ? There can be but one answer. He was
struck down when he was highest in its service, and,
in strict conformity with duty, was engaged in carry-
ing out principles affecting its life, its good name, and
its relations to the cause of freedom and the progress
of mankind. Grief must take the character of action,
462 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
and breathe itself forth in the assertion of the policy
to which he fel^a victim. The standard which he held
in his hand must be uplifted again higher and more
firmly than before, and must be carried on to triumph,
Above everything else, his proclamation of the fiist
day of January, 1863, declaring, throughout the parts
of the country in rebellion, the freedom of all persons
who had been held as slaves, must be affirmed and
maintained.
Events, as they rolled onward, have removed every
doubt of the legality and binding force of that procla-
mation. The country and the rebel government have
each laid claim to the public service of the slave, and
yet but one of the two can have a rightful claim to
such service. That rightful claim belongs to the
United States, because every one born on their soil,
with the few exceptions of the children of travellers
and transient residents, owes them a primary al-
legiance. Every one so born has been counted among
those represented in Congress ; every slave has ever
been represented in Congress ; imperfectly and wrong-
fully, it may be, — but still has been counted and
represented. The slave born on our soil always owed
allegiance to the general government. It may in time
past have been a qualified allegiance, manifested
through his master, as the allegiance of a ward
through its guardian, or an infant through its parent
But when the master became false to his allegiance,
the slave stood face to face with his country ; and
his allegiance, which may before have been a qualified
one, became direct and immediate. His chains fell
off, and he rose at once in the presence of the nation,
ORATION BY GEORGE BANCROFT. 4^3
bound, like the rest of us, to its defence. Mr. Lin-
coln's proclamation did not take notice of the already
existing right of the bondman to freedom. The
treason of the master made it a public crime for the
slave to continue his obedience ; the treason of a
State set free the collective bondmen of that State.
This doctrine is supported by the analogy of prece-
dents. In the times of feudalism, the treason of the
lord of the manor deprived him of his serfs; the
spurious feudalism that existed among us differs in
many respects from the feudalism of the middle ages,
but so far the precedent runs parallel with the present
case ; for treason the master then, for treason the
master now, loses his slaves.
In the middle ages, the sovereign appointed another
lord over the serfs and the land which they cultivated ;
in our day, the sovereign makes them masters of their
own persons, lords over themselves.
It has been said that we are at war, and that eman-
cipation is not a belligerent right. The objection
disappears before analysis. In a war between inde-
pendent powers, the invading foreigner invites to his
standard all who will give him aid, whether bond or
free, and he rewards them according to his ability and
his pleasure, with gifts or freedom : but when at a
peace he withdraws from an invaded country, he must
take his aiders and comforters with him : or, if he
leaves them behind, where he has no court to enforce
his decrees, he can give them no security, unless it be
by the stipulations of a treaty. In a civil war, it is
altogether different. There, when rebellion is crushed,
the old government is restored, and its courts resume
464 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
their jurisdiction. So it is with us ; the United States
have courts of their own, that must punish the guilt
of treason, and vindicate the freedom of persons whom
the fact of rebellion has set free.
Nor may it be said, that because slavery existed in
most of the States when the Union was formed, it
cannot rightfully be interfered with now. A change
has taken place, such as Madison foresaw, and for
which he pointed out the remedy. The constitutions
of States had been transformed before the plotters of
treason carried them away into rebellion. When the
Federal Constitution was framed, general emancipation
was thought to be near ; and everywhere the respective
legislatures had authority, in the exercise of their ordi-
nary functions, to do away with slavery. Since that time
the attempt has been made, in what are called slave
States, to render the condition of slavery perpetual ;
and events have proved, with the clearness of demon-
stration, that a constitution which seeks to continue a
caste of hereditary bondsmen through endless gener-
ations is inconsistent with the existence of republican
institutions.
So, then, the new President and the people of the
United States must insist that the proclamation of
freedom shall stand as a reality. And, moreover, the
people must never cease to insist that the Constitution
shall be so amended as to utterly prohibit slavery on
any part of our soil for evermore.
Alas ! that a State in our vicinity should withhold
its assent to this last beneficent measure : its refusal
was an encouragement to our enemies equal to the
gain of a pitched battle ; and delays the only hopeful
ORATION BY GEORGE BANCROFT. 465
method of pacification. The removal of the cause of
the rebellion is not only demanded by justice ; it is
the policy of mercy, making room for a wider clem-
ency ; it is the part of order against a chaos of con-
troversy ; its success brings with it true reconcilement,
a lasting peace, a continuous growth of confidence
through an assimilation of the social condition.
Here is the fitting expression of the mourning of
to-day.
And let no lover of his country say that this warning
is uncalled for. The cry is delusive that slavery is
dead. Even now it is nerving itself for a fresh strug-
gle for continuance. The last winds from the South
waft to us the sad intelligence that a man who had
surrounded himself with the glory of the most brilliant
and most varied achievements, who but a week ago
was counted with affectionate pride among the great-
est benefactors of his country and the ablest generals
of his time, has initiated the exercise of more than the
whole power of the Executive, and, under the name of
peace, has, perhaps unconsciously, revived slavery, and
given the hope of security and political power to
traitors, from the Chesapeake to the Rio Grande.
Why could he not remember the dying advice of
Washington, never to draw the sword but for self-
defence or the rights of his country, and, when drawn,
never to sheathe it till its work should be accomplished ?
And yet, from this ill-considered act, which the people
with one united voice condemn, no great evil will
follow save the shadow on his own fame ; and that,
also, we hope will pass away. The individual, even in
the greatness of military glory, sinks into insigmfi-
466 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
cance before the resistless movements of ideas in the
history of man. No one can turn back or stay the
march of Providence.
No sentiment of despair may mix with our sorrow.
We owe it to the memory of the dead, we owe to the
cause of popular liberty throughout the world, that the
sudden crime which has taken the life of the President
of the United States shall not produce the least im-
pediment in the smooth course of public affairs. This
great city, in the midst of unexampled emblems of
deeply-seated grief, has sustained itself with com-
posure and magnanimity. It has nobly done its part
in guarding against the derangement of business or
the slightest shock to public credit. The enemies of
the republic put it to the severest trial ; but the voice
of faction has not been heard ; doubt and despondency
have been unknown. In serene majesty, the country
rises in the beauty, and strength, and hope of youth,
and proves to the world the quiet energy and the
durability of institutions growing out of the reason
and affections of the people.
Heaven has willed it that the United States shall
live. The nations of the earth cannot spare them.
All the worn-out aristocracies of Europe saw in the
spurious feudalism of slaveholding their strongest
outpost, and banded themselves together with the
deadly enemies of our national life. If the Old World
vill discuss the respective advantages of oligarch or
equality ; of the union of church and state, or the
rightful freedom of religion ; of land accessible to the
many, or of land monopolized by an ever-decreasing
number of the few, — the United States must live to
ORATION BY GEORGE BANCROFT. 4&7
control the decision by their quiet and unobtrusive
example. It has often and truly been observed, that
the trust and affection of the masses gather naturally
round an individual ; if the inquiry is made, whether
the man so trusted and beloved shall elicit from the
reason of the people enduring institutions of their
own, or shall sequester political power for a superin-
tending dynasty, the United States must live to, solve
the problem. If a question is raised on the respective
merits of Timoleon or Julius Caesar, or of Washington
or Napoleon, the United States must be there to
call to mind that there were twelve Caesars, most of
them the opprobrium of the human race, and to con-
trast with them the line of American Presidents.
The duty of the hour is incomplete, our mourning
is insincere, if, while we express unwavering trust in
the great principles that underlie our government, we
do not also give our sup'port to the man to whom the
people have entrusted its administration.
Andrew Johnson is now, by the Constitution, the
President of the United States, and he stands before
the world as the most conspicuous representative of
the industrial classes. Left an orphan at four years
old, poverty and toil were his steps to honor. His
youth was not passed in the halls of colleges ; never-
theless, he has received a thorough political education
in statesmanship, in the school of the people, and by
long experience of public life. A village functionary ;
member successively of each branch of the Tennessee
Legislature, hearing with a thrill of joy the words,
" The Union, it must be preserved ; " a representative
tn Congress for successive years; governor of the
468 PIONEER HOME TO WHITE HOUSE.
great State of Tennessee, approved as its governor by
re-election ; he was at the opening of the rebellion
a senator from that State in Congress. Then at the
Capitol, when senators, unrebuked by the government,
sent word by telegram to seize forts and arsenals, he
alone of that southern region told them what the
government did not dare to tell them, that they were
traitors, and deserved the punishment of treason.
Undismayed by a perpetual purpose of public enemies
to take his life, bearing up against the still greater
trial of the persecution of his wife and children, in
due time he went back to his State, determined to
restore it to the Union, or die with the American flag
for his winding-sheet. And now, at the call of the
United States, he has returned to Washington as a
conqueror, with • Tennessee as a free State for his
trophy. It remains for him to consummate the vindi-
cation of the Union.
To that Union Abraham Lincoln has fallen a mar-
tyr. His death, which was meant to sever it beyond
repair, binds it more closely and more firmly than ever.
The blow aimed at him was aimed not at the native of
Kentucky, not at the citizen of Illinois, but at the
man, who, as President in the executive branch of the
government, stood as the representative of every man
in the United States The object of the crime was
the life of the whole people ; and it wounds the
affections of the whole people. From Maine to the
southwest boundary of the Pacific, it makes us one.
The country may have needed an imperishable grief to
touch its inmost feeling. The grave that receives the
remains of Lincoln, receives the costly sacrifice to the
ORATION BY GEORGE BANCROFT. 469
Uniori ; the monument which will rise over his body
will bear witness to the Union ; his enduring memory
will assist during countless ages to bind the States
together, and to incite to the love of our one un-
divided, indivisible country. Peace to the ashes of
our departed friend, the friend of his country and of
his race. He was happy in his life, for he was the
restorer of the republic : he was happy in his death,
for his martyrdom will plead forever for the Union of
the States and the freedom of man.
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